Colonia

Name: Colonia
Director: Florian Gallenberger
Released: 2015

Synopsis

A young woman's desperate search for her abducted boyfriend draws her into the infamous Colonia Dignidad, a sect nobody ever escaped from.

63
Washington Post
Although genuinely gripping — at times, uncomfortably so — the tale of Lena and Daniel’s efforts to escape from Colonia and expose its abuses suffers from a heavy-handed telling.
50
The Film Stage
Rushed and full of cinematic artifice, Gallenberger and Torsen Wenzel‘s script reveals itself to be devoid of the naturalism the leads are desperately trying to supply.
50
Los Angeles Times
The end product is a standard-issue cult drama that nevertheless has its gripping moments thanks mainly to the presence of Emma Watson.
40
Arizona Republic
Unfortunately, what the filmmaker has wound up with is something that feels like it should be playing at the bottom end of a triple bill at a drive-in.
30
Variety
The leads are given the thankless task of maintaining grim poker faces through scene after scene of high contrivance and cliche-ridden dialogue.
30
Screen Daily
The victims of notorious Chilean torture camp Colonia Dignidad suffered more than enough without Colonia adding insult to injury.
30
The New York Times
It somehow manages to feel more like a Hallmark Channel romance than like a serious film.
25
The Playlist
Working at cross-purposes, Colonia tries to have it both ways, wanting to be a shocking true story drama and a riveting piece of moviemaking. But it’s not intelligent enough to accumulate any emotional payoff, and it’s too generic and unsophisticated in its execution to work purely as popcorn entertainment.