87
Metascore
8 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100Time OutDavid FearTime OutDavid FearAn epic indictment of media manipulation, this avant-doc delivers its coup de grâce once the camera finally demands accountability - leaving the disgraced despot staring into the lens, and the abyss of history staring back into him.
- 90The New York TimesManohla DargisThe New York TimesManohla DargisIn many respects Ceausescu turns out to be as much the author of this brilliant documentary as the director, Andrei Ujica, who waded through more than 1,000 hours of filmed state propaganda, official news reports and home movies to create a cinematic tour de force that tracks the rise, reign and grim fall of its subject.
- 88Slant MagazineMichael NordineSlant MagazineMichael NordineManages to be intimate and impersonal at the same time, a trait constantly reinforced by his portrayal of not only Ceausescu but the populace he led, represented, and controlled for nearly three decades.
- 88Washington PostAnn HornadayWashington PostAnn HornadayA must-see for any student of history, political rhetoric and film poetics at their most vagrant and revelatory.
- 83The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayThe A.V. ClubNoel MurrayMost likely, The Autobiography Of Nicolae Ceausescu will mean the most to actual Romanians, who will recognize the locations and fashions, and may even know what the government's documentarians left out of the picture. But the movie offers plenty to captivate even outsiders.
- Informative and, especially in its last hour, surprisingly dramatic.
- With its hefty running time, the film builds an unexpected emotional resonance, though never exactly sympathy, as over the years Ceausescu seems to drift further and further into his fantasy vision of himself, making the film like a loop that repeats endlessly in his head.
- 70Boxoffice MagazineBoxoffice MagazineThe title's no joke: the film presents Ceausescu as he presented himself to the world and wanted to be remembered.