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Simi Horwitz

Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:

Simi Horwitz is an award winning cultural reporter/film reviewer whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Hollywood Reporter, Film Journal International, American Theatre, and the Forward among others. She was an on staff feature writer at Backstage for 15 years (1997-2012). She has received awards from the New York Press Club, the Newswomen's Club of New York, the Silurian Press Club, the Society for Feature Journalism, and the Los Angeles Press Club, most recently winning the 2023 first place award for film criticism.

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Shttl (2022) 88% 3/4 EDIT “At its core, the film explores Jewish identity, unity and survival. ” – The Forward Jan 16, 2026 Full Review One Big Happy Family (2025) EDIT “The hallmark of the film is the joyous merging of old comic Jewish stereotypes — think overbearing but well-meaning matriarch — with new comic Jewish stereotypes.” – The Forward Oct 3, 2025 Full Review Pink Lady (2024) EDIT “A deceptively simple film that explores sexuality and desire within an insular and restrictive Haredi community ... Though the film offers a harsh critique of its world, it is never strident or even obvious.” – The Forward Jun 3, 2025 Full Review The Goldman Case (2023) 98% EDIT “A gripping multi-layered film whose titular character is an intriguing and inscrutable figure.” – The Forward Sep 13, 2024 Full Review Farewell, Mr. Haffmann (2022) 100% EDIT “The psychological thriller dramatizes a morally complex and compelling Faustian narrative that touches on the power dynamics underlying class and gender inequality, antisemitism and, most central, the brutality of the Nazi regime.” – The Forward Sep 13, 2024 Full Review Call Me Dancer (2023) 83% EDIT “"Call Me Dancer" is a charming character-driven documentary about family, culture, and the improbable friendship between a 21-year-old Mumbai street dancer, Manish Chauhan, and a 70-year-old Israeli ballet master, Yehuda Maor.” – The Forward Apr 23, 2024 Full Review Those Who Remained (2019) 100% EDIT “An achingly complex love story that embodies a father daughter relationship and a deep bonding friendship between two lost souls whose suppressed and silent interactions resonate powerfully.” – The Forward Aug 2, 2023 Full Review Tiger Within (2020) 75% EDIT “Short of the late Ed Asner's nuanced, haunting, indeed memorable performance, "The Tiger Within" is predictable, awash in stereotypes, devoid of original insight, and the ending is, well, just plain implausible.” – The Forward Jul 28, 2023 Full Review Shoah: Four Sisters (2018) 100% EDIT “A stunning four-part satellite to Claude Lanzmann's masterwork.” – Film Journal International Nov 14, 2018 Full Review Weightless (2017) 55% EDIT “Weightless marks an impressive debut feature defying convention to recount a pessimistic story about two misfits coming together too little, too late.” – Film Journal International Nov 8, 2018 Full Review Distant Constellation (2017) 85% EDIT “Intriguing but frustrating documentary about residents in an Istanbul retirement home grappling with memory and mortality.” – Film Journal International Oct 30, 2018 Full Review A Bread Factory, Part One: For the Sake of Gold (2018) 100% EDIT “A flawed yet complex and ambitious original work about the struggles (financial, political, cultural) of a community theater in upstate New York” – Film Journal International Oct 25, 2018 Full Review The Kindergarten Teacher (2018) 90% EDIT “The Kindergarten Teacher is a flawed movie, but it presents an onscreen character original enough to be worth knowing.” – Film Journal International Oct 11, 2018 Full Review Beautiful Boy (2018) 68% EDIT “Does not transcend its subject and has little, if any, resonance for those who are not personally affected by the disease.” – Film Journal International Oct 10, 2018 Full Review The Children Act (2017) 74% EDIT “The acting is not the problem. It rarely is. And, within parameters, the movie is not dull. Just don't expect to feel much short of guilt in response to your own apathy.” – Film Journal International Sep 13, 2018 Full Review Operation Finale (2018) 60% EDIT “Has its moments but fails to deliver new insights.” – Film Journal International Aug 28, 2018 Full Review The Wife (2017) 85% EDIT “Wonderful film about an award-winning writer and his sacrificing wife who share a dark secret, with great performances by stars Glenn Close and Jonathan Pryce.” – Film Journal International Aug 14, 2018 Full Review Skate Kitchen (2018) 89% EDIT “A fictionalized account of real-life female skateboarders that could have worked as a documentary but misses the mark in this oddball genre hybrid.” – Film Journal International Aug 7, 2018 Full Review Madeline's Madeline (2018) 88% EDIT “An unremittingly pretentious film.” – Film Journal International Aug 7, 2018 Full Review Gavagai (2018) 85% EDIT “Gavagai is not an easy film to watch-its relentless sadness can feel oppressive, but in the end it is oddly life-affirming and well worth the viewing.” – Film Journal International Aug 1, 2018 Full Review Shock and Awe (2017) 28% EDIT “[A] flat-footed, exposition-laden film.” – Film Journal International Jul 11, 2018 Full Review Woman Walks Ahead (2017) 59% EDIT “A well-intentioned but ultimately disappointing film that is perhaps afraid of its own subject.” – Film Journal International Jun 28, 2018 Full Review Spiral (2017) 40% EDIT “An off-putting and dishonest documentary about the rise of anti-Semitism in France that offers no new insights and in the end largely confirms stereotypes about Jews.” – Film Journal International Jun 20, 2018 Full Review Breath (2017) 80% EDIT “A delicately wrought rite-of-passage story and rousing surfing film that is larger than the sum of its parts.” – Film Journal International May 31, 2018 Full Review American Animals (2018) 88% EDIT “American Animals is a stylish, entertaining and disturbing movie, a well-worn tale that's familiar and, paradoxically, brand-new.” – Film Journal International May 31, 2018 Full Review
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