The experiences and challenges of the rural poor might make it into the national conversation as an abstraction, but rarely with the specificity of this intimate portrait of a black community.
75
RogerEbert.comBrian Tallerico
RogerEbert.comBrian Tallerico
There are times when Raising Bertie can seem a bit too unfocused, but it’s a project that always feels worthwhile for the opportunity it provides to expand an often-narrow view of the country.
It’s a portrait of communities and families striving to do right by their kids, but where schools and lack of job programs fail to meet communities’ most desperate needs.
75
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
Byrne is the furthest thing from being a manipulative filmmaker. But Raising Bertie is moving nonetheless.
70
Paste MagazineDaniel Schindel
Paste MagazineDaniel Schindel
Raising Bertie is a moving chronicle, and a potent treatise on institutional failings that knows to demonstrate said problems instead of merely preaching them.
50
Slant MagazineClayton Dillard
Slant MagazineClayton Dillard
The documentary mistakes its access to quotidian behaviors as evidence of the need for comprehensive educational and financial reform.