On the edge of a crumbling city, 11-year-old Alexander lives in a sequestered commune alongside other children, their mothers, and charismatic leader, Gregori. Gregori teaches the children how to raise livestock, grow vegetables, work as a community - and how to kill. With the birth of a new baby brother weighing on his mind, Alexander begins to question Gregori’s overpowering influence on the children and their training to become assassins. Threatened by his increasing unwillingness to fall in line, Gregori’s behavior turns erratic and adversarial toward the child he once considered a son. With the two set dangerously at odds and the commune’s way of life disintegrating, the residents fear a violent resolution is at hand.
A film trying so hard to upend expectations that it loses itself in the process.
– Tom Huddleston,
Time Out,
6 Jan 2016
rotten:
It's hard to tell if director and co-writer Ariel Kleiman is being serious or sarcastic with a story this preposterous.
– Martin Tsai,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Oct 2015
rotten:
Usually, partisans stand for something, but in this movie, which is stripped of a specific time frame and relevant geopolitical context, the term becomes hollow.
– Helen T. Verongos,
New York Times,
1 Oct 2015
fresh:
Newcomer Jeremy Chabriel commands as 11-year-old Alexander, a chosen son whose dawning sense of right and wrong challenges the social order. An auspicious beginning, for him and Kleiman.
– Peter Howell,
Toronto Star,
1 Oct 2015
rotten:
Ambiguity proves the undoing of a potentially interesting story in "Partisan," the first feature by Australian filmmaker Ariel Kleiman.