Do you want to see ‘Blossoms of Fire’?

Add to Netflix

Blossoms of Fire (2000)

tomatometer

All Critics
Top Critics

Average Rating: 5.4/10
Reviews Counted: 10
Fresh: 5 | Rotten: 5

No consensus yet.

No Score Yet...

Average Rating: N/A
Critic Reviews: 4
Fresh: 2 | Rotten: 2

audience

liked it
Average Rating: 3.8/5
User Ratings: 165

My Rating

Added to your Facebook Timeline. — undo

Movie Info

The town of Juchitan in Oaxaca, Mexico, was part of a matriarchal society centuries ago, but unlike most of the cities that surround it, Juchitan hasn't lost touch with this side of its past -- it's a city where women enjoy a degree of political, economic, and social equality unknown in most of the world. The city's dominant businesses are run by women, women take a leading role in city government and activist actions, and in most of the city's households, it's the women who handle the family's

Unrated, 1 hr. 14 min.

Documentary, Special Interest

Directed By: Maureen Gosling , Ellen Osborne

Written By: Toni Hanna, Maureen Gosling

In Theaters: Feb 3, 2006 Limited

On DVD: Jun 20, 2006

New Yorker Films

Critic Reviews for Blossoms of Fire

All Critics (12) | Top Critics (5) | Fresh (5) | Rotten (5)

Maureen Gosling's documentary aims to demythologize the Zapotec people of Juchitán, a town on the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southeastern Mexico.

February 2, 2006 Comment

Dana Stevens

New York Times

Top Critic

She doesn't always find a way into the inner lives of these people, but even the outer lives are something to see.

February 2, 2006 Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor

| Comment

Peter Rainer

Christian Science Monitor

Top Critic

Proceeding respectfully, with a measure of skepticism, Maureen Gosling and Ellen Osborne's doc doesn't exactly crumple but loses momentum through vagueness.

January 31, 2006 Full Review Source: Village Voice

| Comment

Phyllis Fong

Village Voice

Top Critic

Gosling's schoolmarmish narration betrays the filmmakers' awestruck naivete toward the culture, which they seem to consider some sort of matriarchal utopia.

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Chicago Reader

| Comment

Ted Shen

Chicago Reader

Top Critic

While Blossoms of Fire avoids the fluff and sensationalism of an Elle article, it is by no means the last word on Zapotec culture.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International

| Comment

Maria Garcia

Film Journal International

While the subject is potentially fascinating, [director] Gosling's unfocused, sluggish film is a case study in missed opportunities.

February 3, 2006 Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide

| Comment

Maitland McDonagh

TV Guide's Movie Guide

... Gosling's film borrows Herzog's taste for the unfamiliar and exotic without its concomitant saving grace: his wry cynicism.

January 22, 2006 Full Review Source: Boxoffice Magazine

| Comment

Saul Austerlitz

Boxoffice Magazine

I've never seen so many fat women in a single movie.

January 9, 2006 Full Review Source: Film Threat

| Comment

Phil Hall

Film Threat

Gosling's documentary proves to be a worthwhile effort.

December 31, 2005 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews

| Comment

Dennis Schwartz

Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Blossoms of Fire is a bright, amiable chronicle of the vivid lives of the women of Juchitan ...

December 6, 2005 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle

| Comment

Marrit Ingman

Austin Chronicle

More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for Blossoms of Fire

View All

Blossoms of Fire is a dazzling film that celebrates the extraordinary livesof the Isthmus Zapotecs of southern Oaxaca, Mexico, a people with strong work ethic, fierce independence, and deep sense of pride in their culture. Visually appealing to watch as the women wear brightly colored embroidered finery to work every

July 22, 2010

Dannielle Albert

Super Reviewer

great doc which shed some light on such diverse things (for me) as why frida painted herself in the native lace costumes and their deeper meanings in some of her art, this doc manages to both teach & delight.

June 24, 2011