In 1933, a young woman and her father discover an Alabama plantation whose inhabitants live as if slavery had never been abolished. Feeling a sense of duty to those behind the heavy gates, she stays to liberate the people and see them through their first harvest. With four of her father's colleagues and a lawyer, she faces the daunting task of resurrecting the place known as Manderlay.
Manderlay loses in power what it lacks in novelty, even though it's more relevant than anything the year is likely to bring.
– Scott Tobias,
AV Club,
27 Nov 2006
rotten:
Watching this film is an edifying but frustrating experience; dull in parts, amusing and illuminating in others. You'd still struggle to call it entertainment.
– Dave Calhoun,
Time Out,
24 Jun 2006
rotten:
Dig that freaky symbolism!
– David Edelstein,
New York Magazine/Vulture,
12 May 2006
rotten:
If von Trier can't be bothered to get out more, he should at least consider picking up a book or just using some real imagination.
– Terry Lawson,
Detroit Free Press,
24 Mar 2006
fresh:
Manderlay is both more coherent and more obvious than Dogville, which lacked the clean narrative drive of the new film.