Life, Above All (2011)

Critic Reviews

• Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

  Life, Above All, is a sometimes gripping drama about this child who has to grow up too fast, who has to keep her family together and alive, and has come to terms with the stigma that her neighbors place on them.

• Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

  "Life, Above All" earns the tears it inspires. The film is about deep human emotions, evoked with sympathy and love.

• Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic

  Perseverance is the theme of "Life, Above All," a drama that is deeply affecting, if also overwhelmingly bleak.

• Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

  This is a heartening story of resilience told without false uplift. It is hopeful without being mawkish, realistic but not oppressive.

• Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post

  "Life, Above All," a deeply moving South African drama about AIDS and ostracism, manages to be, paradoxically, both austere and uplifting.

• Ty Burr, Boston Globe

  If [its] allegorical underpinnings blur the film's edges, the performances bring it back into focus.

• James Plath, Movie Metropolis

  Art with heart.

• Philip Martin, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

  ...there's an undeniable fierceness and intelligence in Manyaka's lead performance. She's far from a polished actor, but there's real steel there.

• John Beifuss, Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

  The location settings are more compelling than the filmmaking, but the subject matter and the effective presence of young Khomotso Manyaka perhaps make this worth seeking out for those who are sympathetic to its subject matter.

• Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)

  "Life, Above All" is an incredibly sad movie that never relies on sentimentality, and is as clear-eyed about the story as its forthright young heroine.

• Kimberley Jones, Austin Chronicle

  What makes it bearable but also beautiful and stirring is the central performance by the preteen, first-time actor Khomotso Manyaka.

• Marc Mohan, Oregonian

  An imperfect attempt at addressing the continued reluctance of sub-Saharan societies to address the HIV plague in their midst.

• Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald

  A well-meaning but ploddingly earnest after-school special...

• Tony Macklin, tonymacklin.net

  Life, Above All is 100 minutes of grief and courage. The film shows how South Africans failed to accept and deal with the reality of AIDS. It's a provocative and depressing plot.

• Josh Bell, Las Vegas Weekly

  Manyaka brings grace and empathy to everything Chanda does, eliciting sympathy and understanding in spite of the movie's own awkwardness.

• Matt Pais, RedEye

  There are a lot of tears in Life, Above All, and they're all earned.

• Jim Lane, Sacramento News & Review

  ... more drudgery than enlightenment.

• Tom Keogh, Seattle Times

  There is less in-your-face grit in Cape Town-born director Oliver Schmitz's vision for this film than there is a careful pacing of somber revelations.

• Justin Strout, Orlando Weekly

  Manyaka's performance is jaw dropping, entirely earning the neat little bow that the movie seems determined to put on top of her mission.

• Sarah Sluis, Film Journal International

  Story about a South African girl struggling against AIDS stigma feels too rational and distant.

Read all 22 critic reviews