72
Metascore
11 reviews · Provided by Metacritic.com
- 88TheWrapLena WilsonTheWrapLena WilsonBaghdadi has harnessed something truly special. Like its fractious characters, Sirens is both humble and arresting, relatable and unique. It will stay with you long after the band has played their final chords.
- 88Paste MagazineShayna Maci WarnerPaste MagazineShayna Maci WarnerRita Baghdadi’s new documentary Sirens is a smartly crafted, hugely entertaining look at the band as it goes through growing pains, fights for bookings, and navigates inter-band dyke drama against the backdrop of a city under constant threat of attack.
- 75RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyRogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyBaghadi and lead editor Grace Zahrah piece together the footage into a collage of yearning, ambition, and what can only be called gumption. It's inspirational, of course, but it's also thoughtful and meditative.
- 75The Film StageJared MobarakThe Film StageJared MobarakIt reaches past the usual rock clichés to recognize that the struggle these women face is more immediate than striving to perform for sold-out crowds or become signed by a label. This is about surviving a chaotic environment marked by past violence while still entrenched in present-day political revolution.
- 70The Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergThe Hollywood ReporterDaniel FienbergWanting more is a criticism, but it’s a luxury criticism. This documentary builds a world you want to explore further.
- 70The New York TimesGlenn KennyThe New York TimesGlenn KennyThe ending, in which the reunited Sirens play before an enthusiastic crowd, is heart-tugging and rousing, even for non-metal heads.
- 67ConsequenceClint WorthingtonConsequenceClint WorthingtonFor as choppy as Sirens can be in its too-short 78-minute runtime, it’s easy to chalk that up to the difficulties of filming during COVID. But what we do get is certainly crowd-pleasing, a riotous doc that combines likable personalities with thrumming guitar licks and its subjects’ relatable yearning to find their voice and their power.
- 60Screen RantMae AbdulbakiScreen RantMae AbdulbakiThought-provoking, beautifully edited and told, Sirens explores the band members’ relationship with each other, gender, and conformity in a society that isn’t always open about such things.
- 58The PlaylistJonathan ChristianThe PlaylistJonathan ChristianBaghdadi’s affection for cherishing quaint moments overwhelms the opportunity to fuse the band’s affable charm to a well-rounded depiction of modern-day Middle Eastern women existing on the fringes of their culture.