Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 12 out of 14
  2. Negative: 0 out of 14
  1. 90
    A wrenching, funny and wise little picture, with a diva-like junior star at its center.
  2. 88
  3. 88
    Brilliantly, the movie becomes a double coming-of-age story. The parents' political awakening parallels their daughter's.
  4. Blame It on Fidel is the thoroughly engaging, clear-eyed and charming story of a little girl grappling with the domestic fallout of tumultuous political times.
  5. Julie Gavras’s wonderful film, Blame It on Fidel, views its ideological conflicts through the eyes of a smart, willful child.
  6. Reviewed by: Lisa Nesselson
    Wonderfully engaging look at 1970-71 from a child's p.o.v.
  7. 75
    Blame It on Fidel doesn't aim for the profundity of Costa-Gavras films like "State of Siege" and "Z" - but who's complaining?
  8. 75
    But while Kervel will probably have to have her own children before she fully understands the changes parents go through, she's bound to adjust to her folks' whims. Having no power of her own, what choice does she have?
  9. Documentary filmmaker Julie Gavras has made a successful transition into narratives with the remarkably assured, thoroughly delightful Blame It on Fidel.
  10. Reviewed by: Jamie Tipps
    Despite the seriousness of the subject, the movie is sweet and charming; it knows that audiences hate to be preached to and instead shows us--as it shows a Anna--why we should care about being humane.
  11. Reviewed by: Aaron Hillis
    The real treasure here is newcomer Kervel, a child superstar in the making.
  12. The result is a movie of deceptive lightness and powerful sweep. And what makes it truly work is the presence of Kervel, a first-time actor whose Anna is disarmingly self-assured and sweet. Without her, nothing else matters.
  13. Reviewed by: Tasha Robinson
    Gavras’ ending makes it clear where her sympathies lie. In the process of building to that conclusion, she overplays her metaphor a bit, but still, political tracts rarely come this sweet and sympathetic.
  14. The young heroine is rather humorless, but Gavras's intelligence and skillful touch are evident throughout.
User Score

Universal acclaim- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. Mar 19, 2012
    An accurate portrayal of what it feels like to slowly awaken to the "grown up" world. The detail and identification concerning the main character is well thought out, and particularly moving at times. Full Review »
  2. DavidT.
    Sep 15, 2007
    Delightful film that lets the audience discover through a child's eyes.