54
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 83Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerChristian Science MonitorPeter RainerIt’s a perplexing, fascinating, maddening movie, not quite like any other film biography of a famous painter, most of which tend to be equal parts ho-hum and hokum.
- 70Los Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinLos Angeles TimesGary GoldsteinThe film takes liberties with certain truths about Gauguin and his time in the tropics, yet despite — or maybe because of — its concoctions manages to produce a highly compelling central character.
- 70Village VoiceSimon AbramsVillage VoiceSimon AbramsCassel’s Gauguin may ultimately be a lightweight cinematic descendant of the monstrous European pioneers that Klaus Kinski played in Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo, but he’s also both menacing and pitiable enough to make Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti riveting on a moment-to-moment basis.
- 63Film Journal InternationalDaniel EaganFilm Journal InternationalDaniel EaganCassel, one of France's singular talents, delivers an absorbing performance, committing to his role on both mental and physical levels.
- 60New York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinNew York Magazine (Vulture)David EdelsteinAlthough the script is based on Gauguin’s own writing, the film presents him as such a gloomy Gus that he might have swapped souls with his onetime pal Van Gogh.
- 50The Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijThe Hollywood ReporterBoyd van HoeijWhat keeps the material from feeling too scattershot is the vitality of Cassel’s performance, which is full of life even when he’s not always in the best of health. He’s a much-needed charismatic center that almost manages to keep the entire enterprise together.
- 50RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyThe film is beautiful in spots, and features a believably tormented performance by Vincent Cassel as Gauguin, but unfortunately it has only a hazy idea of what it wants to be about.
- 38Slant MagazineSlant MagazineGauguin represents for the film no less an ideal Romantic subject than the Polynesians represented for the painter himself: penniless, chronically ill, and living in self-imposed isolation—the very embodiment of the suffering artist.
- 30The New York TimesBen KenigsbergThe New York TimesBen KenigsbergContent to be yet another great-man biopic, the movie would rather sanitize than probe.