Roger Ebert’s Final, Poignant Review Published

Roger Ebert’s final review has been published by The Chicago Sun-Times.

Ebert died late this past week, just a day after announcing that his cancer had returned and that he was taking a temporary “leave of presence” from reviewing films. He planned on writing about his illness, and about film as a whole during his treatment.

His final review was published Sunday by the Sun-Times, the publication he has worked for since 1967. Perhaps appropriately, the review was of a film by director Terrence Malick, one of Ebert’s favorites.

Of his latest film, The The Wonder, Ebert wrote: “There were once several directors who yearned to make no less than a masterpiece but now there are only a few. Malick has stayed true to that hope ever since his first feature in 1973.”

The review was a sweet, quiet and poignant reflection on the film, and on film as a whole. While To the Wonder chronicles a love affair from beginning to end, the same could almost be said of Ebert’s review, and even his career.

Ebert’s last words in print served as something of a manifesto for film makers: “to reach beneath the surface, and find the soul in need.”

Ebert assigned Malick’s To the Wonder 3.5 stars out of four. The film will open in limited release on April 12, and then on April 19 in Chicago.

You can read Roger Ebert’s final review on Terrence Malick’s To the Wonderhere, or watch the short clip below of the famed critic reflecting on his career (circa 1997):

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[Image via: Chuck Boller of the Hawaii International Film Festival, Wikimedia Commons]