Critics reviews

Sarr’s skill at the subtle transformation of his emotional responses from, say, heartbreak to happiness (and back again) is incredibly compelling to watch. It is a demanding role, and the young actor absolutely kills it, elevating the film above its wistful, self-congratulatory tone.

It’s stirring not just as an intimate closeup of a migrant’s experience but as a reconciliation of dramatic and stylistic modes—a dexterous balancing act that speaks to a new ease and mastery in the director’s work.

[I]ts self-consciously artistic cinematography has a National Geographic type of sheen to it, distancing the film from its protagonists rather than elevating their trek to epic proportions.

You can get the facts about these migrants anywhere, but Garrone knows the tool of cinema is more effective. By presenting these adolescents in all their fragility and strength, he comes as close as is possible to getting us to feel how they felt. “Io Capitano” is as unflinching as it is robust with empathy.

“Io Capitano” plays like it was made for the Best International Feature Oscar race. It’s a type of film — usually middle-of-the-road, always well-intentioned — that’s designed to tug on the heartstrings of Oscar voters, putting a prestige gloss onto “important” stories...

Garrone doesn’t spare you much, but if the movie never turns into an exercise in art-house sadism, it’s because his focus remains unwaveringly fixed on his characters who, from the start, are fully rounded people, not props, symbols or object lessons.

Io Capitano shines a light on the realities of the voyage while still bringing humanity to the individuals who face it. The film highlights the resilience of its subjects and mobilizes us to reflect on persistent racist immigration policies.

Io Capitano is unsparing in its depiction of what people will do to those they believe are helpless.

But steered by Sarr in a spellbinding performance, this is a mesmerizing watch for the most part, running the gamut of positive idealism at the film’s opening to clinging on to the vestiges of hope at the finale.

There are moments when Garrone’s vision strays too close to the fable in its narrative even as its images portray a brutal reality. However, Io Capitano doesn’t lose its humanity either...

Garrone’s film has a three-dimensional and devastatingly realized human soul at its core.

Garrone, however, almost never puts a foot wrong with this painstakingly composed work, an adventure peppered by moments of nauseating horror but also ravishing beauty and grace.