Stef Schwartz Autostraddle Jun 14, 2021

What was most refreshing, though, was getting to see sides of Hanna's personality that aren't always immediately apparent from interviews and stage banter.

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Laina Dawes Bitch Media Jan 15, 2021

In terms of providing a historical narrative of the Riot Grrl scene, The Punk Singer does an adequate, yet rushed job within an 80-minute film.

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Brent McKnight The Last Thing I See Jul 9, 2020 A-

What the "The Punk Singer" does best is capture the excitement, passion, and the conviction that is still evident on those records, and that you saw at those live shows.

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Bernard Boo Way Too Indie Apr 9, 2019 8.3/10

Hanna is shining symbol of feminist activism, ungodly perseverance, and artistic originality, and The Punk Singer captures her life and career to this point terrifically.

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Leigh Clark CineVue Mar 21, 2019 4/5

The Punk Singer is a rewarding and positive experience.

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Ren Jender Bitch Flicks Mar 14, 2019

Sini Anderson's The Punk Singer is all about music and politics: feminism and women, while focusing on one person, Kathleen Hanna, formerly of the bands Bikini Kill, Le Tigre and current front-woman of The Julie Ruin.

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Morgan Rojas Cinemacy Nov 22, 2018

The Punk Singer is a great documentary that should be recognized for its quality filmmaking and message.

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Stephen Saito Moveable Fest Nov 22, 2018

For an uncompromising and incendiary performer who commands your full attention, "The Punk Singer" gives Hanna the spotlight she deserves.

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Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Horror Nonna Aug 25, 2018

While exciting for the sheer range of archival visual material it employs to tell Hanna's story, The Punk Singer is even more significant for capturing just how relevant the ideological pulse of Riot Grrrl is today.

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Jessica Baxter Film Threat Aug 9, 2017

The Punk Singer is so much more than just a music doc. It is absolutely essential viewing for anyone interested in learning about the feminist pioneers who dared to stand up for themselves.

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Simran Hans DOX Aug 1, 2017

The film, with its zine-like construction, is a whistle-stop tour of the fun stuff, of Hanna's highs, and above all, a personal portrait of one girl's ambition to create a space for herself in the front.

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Jenni Miller Film.com Jun 9, 2017 9/10

It is a love letter to Kathleen Hanna, to feminism, and to the fans, but it's also just a damn good movie.

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Julie Bramowitz Vogue Apr 26, 2017

This essential rock doc underscores how Bikini Kill gave voice to a group that had previously been ignored, particularly by male-dominated punk.

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Anna Bean Bust Magazine Oct 7, 2016

A provocative story about resilience, the feminist movement, and how far we still have to go.

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Jason Bailey Flavorwire Jun 21, 2016

Both a captivating personal story and a history of a moment - as the best rock documentaries are.

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Jared Mobarak The Film Stage Jun 21, 2016 B-

The Punk Singer is as much a document of Kathleen Hanna's career as it is a public explanation for the truth behind her early retirement.

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Austin Trunick Under the Radar Aug 18, 2014 8/10

The Punk Singer works ... as an eye-witness account of an important movement in feminist art; it's a film as vibrant and as vital as [Hanna's] music.

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Michael Leader Film4 Jun 6, 2014

This hagiographic ode to the quintessential 90s riot grrrl is by no means definitive, but there's a welcome rallying cry to all wannabe revolutionary rockers hidden within the bio-doc blather.

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Landon Palmer Nonfics (Substack) Jun 2, 2014 3/5

...perhaps there is an inherent contradiction in attempting to capture a democratizing movement through an individual figure, as rocktastic and badass as that figure might be.

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Aine O'Connor Sunday Independent (Ireland) May 30, 2014

This blast from the past is strangely timely.

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