September Says

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1:31

September Says

2024,

1h 38m,

Drama

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September Says: Trailer 1

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63%

27 Reviews

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Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

27 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Sisters July and September are thick as thieves, though very different -September is protective and distrustful of others, while July is open to and curious about the world. Their dynamic is a concern to their single mum, Sheela, who is unsure what to do with them. When September is suspended from their school, July is left to fend for herself and begins to assert her own independence - which does not go unnoticed by September. Tension among the three women builds when they take refuge in an old holiday home in Ireland, where July finds her bond with September shifting in ways she cannot entirely understand or control - and a series of surreal encounters test the family to their limit.

Critics Consensus

A flawed but striking debut, September Says drifts through an impressionistic world held together by unsettling performances and haunting visuals that hint at the emergence of a bold directorial voice.

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Katie McCabe

Sight & Sound

Mar 10, 2025

Labed’s film, like Johnson’s novel, understands how sisters practise life on one another, testing out the worst facets of their personalities until they are ready to present them to the world.

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Mark Kermode

Kermode and Mayo's Take (YouTube)

Feb 26, 2025

For a good two-thirds of it, I thought it was really decent... We will see better work from this writer/director in the future because there is a lot of promise.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Feb 21, 2025

2/5

The closing twist is crudely telegraphed earlier on and arrives with a naff explanatory flashback that’s laugh-out-loud preposterous. So no, not an especially successful adaptation.

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Javier Ocaña

El Pais (Spain)

Apr 30, 2025

Themes such as feminine complexity, the denunciation of suppressed racism, and activism in favor of family diversity emerge in its story, but Labed fails to combine them into a sufficiently seductive, albeit lewd, work. [Full review in Spanish]

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Eulàlia Iglesias

Fotogramas

Apr 30, 2025

3/5

In her debut film, [Ariane] Labed demonstrates her ability to generate disturbing and suggestive atmospheres...[Full review in Spanish]

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Luis Martínez

El Mundo (Spain)

Apr 30, 2025

3/5

Ariane Labed makes her directorial debut with a surgical and very gothic dissection of puberty that is as vivid and murky as it is ultimately rushed. [Full review in Spanish]

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September Says: Trailer 1

1:31

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Synopsis

Sisters July and September are thick as thieves, though very different -September is protective and distrustful of others, while July is open to and curious about the world. Their dynamic is a concern to their single mum, Sheela, who is unsure what to do with them. When September is suspended from their school, July is left to fend for herself and begins to assert her own independence - which does not go unnoticed by September. Tension among the three women builds when they take refuge in an old holiday home in Ireland, where July finds her bond with September shifting in ways she cannot entirely understand or control - and a series of surreal encounters test the family to their limit.

Director: Ariane Labed
Producer: Ed Guiney, Lara Hickey, Andrew Lowe, Chelsea Morgan Hoffmann
Screenwriter: Daisy Johnson, Ariane Labed, Ariane Labed
Production Co: BBC Film
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 38m

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