66
Metascore
9 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 80The New York TimesNeil GenzlingerThe New York TimesNeil GenzlingerJudy Irving injects just enough of herself into her Pelican Dreams to distinguish this sweet film from an episode of the PBS series “Nature.”
- 75San Francisco ChronicleSan Francisco ChronicleMorro is a great character, and for the most part, the film is animal friendly and environmentally serious. In the end, Irving turns out to be a reliable narrator.
- 75Slant MagazineRob HumanickSlant MagazineRob HumanickThe film is spare, empathic, and deeply introspective, and its imagery, such as a pelican fascinated by its own reflection, is so sublime in its kookiness as to be worthy of Werner Herzog.
- 75Washington PostMichael O'SullivanWashington PostMichael O'SullivanThe fate of these birds, which, the film tells us, could live into their 40s, becomes as engrossing as many a human drama.
- 70Village VoiceKatherine VuVillage VoiceKatherine VuThe most effective part of Irving's film is how deftly she captures the pelicans' clear anxieties, curiosities, and joys.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckThe Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckPelican Dreams will give you a new appreciation for these creatures sometimes referred to as "flying dinosaurs."
- 60The DissolveAndrew LapinThe DissolveAndrew LapinThere are small attempts at narrative, but the primary lure of Pelican Dreams (for people who like this kind of stuff) is the copious footage of the birds doing goofy pelican things.
- 60Los Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyLos Angeles TimesBetsy SharkeyIt's when the film detours into Irving's personal attachment to the birds, including photos of her as a child on the beach, that Pelican Dreams gets seriously off track. Fortunately, pelicans are interesting creatures and the time spent with the lens focused on them is payoff enough.
- 50Austin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenAustin ChronicleMarjorie BaumgartenIrving again delivers personal observations about curious creatures in a manner that’s part nature doc and part meditative exploration. The result is as mixed as the process.