McFarland, USA

Caro keeps the material picturesque, respectful, and respectable...

...has a nice feel for Latino life, the kids are a likable bunch and Costner, as ever, imbues the hooey with enough gravitas to make you care.

...the film has generated the cloud of warm liberal fuzziness required to carry us up over the pick-and-mix platitudes and predictable narrative diversions.

...Caro...brings huge reserves of both curiosity and empathy to the story, and her abilities as an entertainer keep the movie generous in both heart-tugging and smile-inducing moments.

Caro expertly cuts between the physicality of the athletes and the imposing landforms they must conquer, giving a genuine sense of the exhaustion, pain, and mental wherewithal that goes into the sport.