Rotten Tomatoes, a
review aggregator, reports that 78% of 18 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 6.4/10.
Metacritic rated it 61/100 based on six reviews. Dennis Harvey of
Variety wrote that the film "is inevitably diverting as a well-shot partial peek behind the scenes, but reveals far less than intended." Leslie Felperin of
The Hollywood Reporter wrote that the documentary becomes most interesting when it explores the theatre's internal politics. Geoffrey Macnab of
The Independent rated it 4/5 stars and wrote that it "induces a sense of awe" about the theatre company.
Peter Bradshaw of
The Guardian rated it 4/5 stars and wrote, "This enthralling documentary reveals the extraordinary upheavals at the Bolshoi Ballet as the tip of Russia’s rage iceberg". Brian Siebert of
The New York Times called it "more attractive than illuminating", as it is "surprisingly short on drama" considering the subject matter. Laura Bleiberg of the
Los Angeles Times wrote, "These twin tracts of darkness and light, the sordid and the sublime, quite effectively submerge the viewer into a closed world." == References ==