The Gatekeepers 2012

A.O. Scott, New York Times: It is hard to imagine a movie about the Middle East that could be more timely, more painfully urgent, more challenging to conventional wisdom on all sides of the conflict. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: The Gatekeepers doesn't play like agitprop. The storytelling is strong, the images stark. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The Israeli journalist Dror Moreh has hit a documentarian's trifecta with "The Gatekeepers." Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Whatever one's political stripe regarding Israel, it's hard to dispute the impressions and perspective of the film's six eyewitnesses. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: The Gatekeepers serves as a terrifying oracle, with Israel forevermore a powder keg waiting to go off. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Moreh conducts a kind of primer in the organization's history, which is, in its own way, a history of modern Israel. It's fascinating. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: If for no other reason, it deserves to be seen for arranging decades of events in the Middle East into a chronology that, to an outsider, makes dreadful sense. Read more

Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader: Ultimately the movie feels evasive, and its flashy, digitally animated re-creations of military surveillance footage unpleasantly evoke the Call of Duty video games. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: A lesser filmmaker might've been tripped up by such a narrow focus. A lesser filmmaker might've misjudged the melange of archival footage, fabricated surveillance footage and talking heads, which Moreh handles with a blend of cinematic flash and tact. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: It's an eye-opener. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: The level of candor here may not satisfy hard-liners of either stripe, but it can help viewers begin to formulate new questions about the philosophical, strategic and moral challenges of conflict, in particular "wars on terror." Read more

Tom Long, Detroit News: The film and its talking head participants paint the picture in both broad strokes and fine detail. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: A feat - of access and of passionate and appropriately unsettling political commentary. Read more

Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times: A documentary potent enough to alter how you see the world. Read more

David Thomson, The New Republic: There is a powerful moment in [the film] when Diskin, head of the Shin Bet from 2005 to 2011, candidly remarks that for the Palestinians he is himself a terrorist. That is not relativism but realism, and the welcome sign of an empathetic imagination. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: A remarkable character study. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Moreh's reporting is impressive, built on those extensive interviews and some startling footage, from wartime newsreels to bomb-site views of quickly exploding targets. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Their honest assessments shed light on issues that continue to reverberate. Read more

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: The filmmaker doesn't speculate about why these men are talking, but he leaves you with an excellent guess. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: As a clear-eyed examination of a conflict that seems to have no end, The Gatekeepers is powerful, provocative stuff. Read more

Omer Mozaffar, Chicago Sun-Times: The film makes explicit and implicit endorsements. The strategy of vengeance and overkill is ineffective and leads Israel to horrific behavior described only through metaphor. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: The Gatekeepers cuts deeper than any political thriller. It's a powerhouse. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Israelis, generally speaking, tend to be tough, but the men who've commanded Shin Bet, Israel's secret service, are in a whole other category. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "The Gatekeepers" is a triumph of storytelling, a revealing view into the intricate shadow worlds of international espionage. Read more

Ian Buckwalter, The Atlantic: The subjects' openness is refreshing - and sometimes frightening. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: As a political testament, the result is revealing and important. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: A monolith crumbles in The Gatekeepers, and it's a sight to inspire awe. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: You'll be arguing with your friends about the ethics of secrecy and defense for hours; that's what makes these exit interviews so essential. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: It offers startlingly honest insight into the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from some of those who called the shots. Read more

Justin Chang, Variety: The brutal recent history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is rivetingly recounted by some of its most prominent players in The Gatekeepers. Read more

Michelle Orange, Village Voice: [A] searching, engrossing, and stylish inquiry ... Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: A sobering but welcome dose of honesty regarding issues and events that have otherwise been shrouded in secrecy and overheated rhetoric. Read more