The Cathedral

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The Cathedral

2022

1h 28m

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

96%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

An only child’s meditative, impressionistic account of an American family’s rise and fall over twenty years.

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Critics Consensus

As carefully and impressively constructed as its title would suggest, The Cathedral offers an absorbing, impressionistic child's-eye look at family life.

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Sheri Linden

The Hollywood Reporter

Sep 16, 2022

Juxtaposes remembered interactions and still-life shots with a deliberate, elliptical precision, the minor-key notes building to a chord that resounds with the ache of lost time and unexpressed emotions.

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Sheila O'Malley

RogerEbert.com

Sep 2, 2022

3.5/4

The Cathedral marries form to content in a striking way.

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Manohla Dargis

New York Times

Sep 1, 2022

Part of the pleasure of “The Cathedral” is how D’Ambrose plays with — and gently destabilizes — narrative conventions by drawing from different realist traditions.

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Ryan Swen

Taipei Mansions

Sep 5, 2025

D’Ambrose second feature The Cathedral marks another such turning point, and a remarkable melding of his filmmaking hallmarks with something that might be called more conventional.

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Cory Woodroof

615 Film

Nov 10, 2022

If you’re want to watch one of those “this is why I make movies; look at my parents,” things without really having to suss through knowing way too much about the filmmaker going in, this is your best bet.

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Filipe Freitas

Always Good Movies

Oct 27, 2022

3.5/5

It's just almost pathologically elementary, floating with nostalgia and a few painful moments that could go even further in its narrative purpose.

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Judith K

@ziqiongmom Dec 17, 2025

If you like watching paint dry, place settings, and moving light on floors and carpets, this is the movie for you. To call this movie plotting as spare is an understatement. Watch Boyhood instead, if you want to watch a movie that traces a boy's development from childhood to adulthood.

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Cora J

@RT66171985 Nov 18, 2025

Yo that was awesome!!!!!

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Ricky D'Ambrose

Director

Monica Barbaro

Lydia Damrosch

Brian d'Arcy James

Richard Damrosch

Geraldine Singer

Flora Orkin

Mark Zeisler

Nick Orkin

William Bednar-Carter

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Synopsis

An only child’s meditative, impressionistic account of an American family’s rise and fall over twenty years.

Director: Ricky D'Ambrose
Producer: Graham Swon
Screenwriter: Ricky D'Ambrose
Production Co: Ravenser Odd
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 28m

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