There are thousands of great films to choose from, but very few achieve a perfect score from every single critic. But one survival drama from 2018 has done just that, and many viewers believe it’s the best of its kind ever made.
Leave No Trace is the most reviewed film to hold a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 252 critics praising it. Directed by Debra Granik and starring Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie, it tells the story of a military veteran father with post-traumatic stress disorder who lives in the forest with his young daughter.
The film is based on Peter Rock’s 2009 novel My Abandonment, which was inspired by a true story.
It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2018 and was released in cinemas later that year.
Critics have called it moving, powerful, and unlike anything else. The New York Times’ Manohla Dargis said: “In its best moments, Leave No Trace invites you to simply be with its characters, to see and experience the world as they do.
“Empathy, the movie reminds you, is something that is too little asked of you either in life or in art.”
Kenneth Turan from the Los Angeles Times described it as “fiercely involving in a way we’re not used to, made with sensitivity and honesty by director and co-writer Debra Granik. It tells its emotional story of a father and daughter living dangerously off the grid in a way that is unnerving and uncompromising yet completely satisfying.”
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw called it “a deeply intelligent story of love and survival in the wild” and gave it five stars.
It also impressed high-profile fans. Film critic Mark Kermode and former US President Barack Obama both named it their favourite movie of 2018.
Audience reviews have been just as glowing. One viewer wrote: “One of the best movies I have ever seen and definitely the best drama ever made.”
Another said it was “tragically brilliant. You can’t help but get invested in both characters and put yourself in their shoes.”
Others praised its simplicity and focus on emotion. “This film has no bells and whistles. It is all about the characters, story and acting. The story is both beautiful and heartbreaking. It had me glued from beginning to end,” one fan wrote.
Another called it “a fantastic cinematic masterpiece of simplicity about survival and connection” and said it highlights “the utmost importance of home”.
While most reviews were positive, Variety’s Peter Debruge felt the film’s pacing was slow, describing it as “listless” and “meandering.”
But that opinion is in the minority, and hasn’t stopped the drama from being hailed as a modern classic.