85
Metascore
27 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 100There is an unassuming languidness to Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s anthropologic documentary about a rural Macedonian beekeeper, “Honeyland.” It’s a quiet and passive film that’s content to luxuriate in place and revel in solitude, which, in turn, both drags the narrative’s loose pacing and instills a certain natural structure that, once embraced, becomes almost mesmerizing.
- 100Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangLos Angeles TimesJustin Chang[A] lovely, heartrending movie.
- 100The New York TimesA.O. ScottThe New York TimesA.O. ScottThe opening minutes of Honeyland are as astonishing — as sublime and strange and full of human and natural beauty — as anything I’ve ever seen in a movie.
- 90The New YorkerAnthony LaneThe New YorkerAnthony LaneHoneyland swarms with difficult, ancient truths about parents, children, greed, respect, and the need for husbandry.
- 88Slant MagazineKeith WatsonSlant MagazineKeith WatsonAs the world continues to suffer ever-increasing mass die-offs of honeybee colonies, Ljubomir Stefanov and Tamara Kotevska’s film reminds us that there’s indeed a better way to interact with our planet—one rooted in patience, tradition, and a true respect for our surroundings.
- 83IndieWireDavid EhrlichIndieWireDavid EhrlichThis bitter and beautiful Sundance-winning doc focuses on a single beekeeper as though our collective future hinges on her hives.
- 83The A.V. ClubCharles BramescoThe A.V. ClubCharles BramescoThough Honeyland is also about what it’s about; in addition to underscoring another inconvenient truth with planetary stakes, the film offers tender, patient portraiture to a woman wholly dedicated to her calling. The melding of the political with the personal has seldom involved so many stingers to the face.
- 80The Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenThe Hollywood ReporterSheri LindenAs with any vérité portrait, there are many things that go unexplained. But the images tell us what we need to know: The unforced choreography between Hatidze and the bees.
- 75The AtlanticDavid SimsThe AtlanticDavid SimsA sensitivity to both petty human concerns and striking natural beauty is what makes Honeyland a particularly enthralling documentary.