Village Voice

"JL Aronson's "Danielson: A Family Movie" is a deftly organized profile of Christian indie-rockers the Danielson Famile. Started in the mid '90s by then college student Daniel Smith with his four siblings, Danielson has struggled for acceptance in the aesthetically conservative CCM community on account of their bizarre live shows—band members perform in nurses' uniforms and Daniel has been known to sing in a tree costume—and experimental sound (described on Allmusic as Captain Beefheart's Magic Band crossed with the Partridge Family). Comprising interviews, home videos, and concert footage, Aronson's evenhanded doc confronts both the wretchedness of much openly Christian art and the lingering prejudice against openly Christian artists, charts the friendship between Daniel and sometime band member Sufjan Stevens during the latter's meteoric rise to stardom..., and portrays Daniel himself as a lucid eccentric overflowing with creative energy. It's a delight even for the uninitiated..."

The Stranger (Seattle)

EXCERPT: "Elvis had his lascivious hips. Dylan had his electricity. Here’s a rock rebel whose rebellion is the result of faith, imagination, and a stable, encouraging home life. It takes a pretty impressive film not to stumble over such rich contradictions. Danielson observes each one with grace, optimism, and curiosity."

LA Weekly

EXCERPT: "Director JL Aronson’s sweet, respectful documentary on the indie Christian rock group the Danielson Famile hums with the most timely (if not timeless) of questions: How do you negotiate the faith of true believers when you yourself do not believe? "

SF Weekly

EXCERPT: "It's devilshly hard to capture creativity and convey integrity on film, but [Danielson: a Family Movie] is as poignant a glimpse of the artist's plight as you'll ever see."

the New York Times

EXCERPT: "Often performing with his four siblings and assorted friends as the Danielson Famile, [Daniel Smith] sings in a deliberate fingernail-on-chalkboard voice that’s a very long way from the slick stuff most people associate with Christian rock. Live performances are performance art of a sort: the Famile members dress in nursing uniforms (representative of healing), and as a solo act Mr. Smith (calling himself Brother Danielson) has often dressed as a tree...The film traces the birth and evolution of this odd beast, and once you decide the whole thing is not a put-on, you’re entranced..."

Rolling Stone

EXCERPT: "Most indie bands don't make for great doc fodder because they're so boring. Not the Danielson Famile— a freak-folk collective of devout Christians."

Washington Post

Austin Chronicle

EXCERPT: "Aronson's thorough and thoroughly interesting film explains it all and doubles as a primer in all things Danielson."

The Onion

EXCERPT: "A delicate labor of love about a man living his faith in the strangest of ways."

Indiewire.com

EXCERPT: "Danielson: a Family Movie is a joy to watch."

Pitchfork

EXCERPT: "...an engrossing portrayal of a complicated artist giddily toting immense cultural baggage and creating art that seems both damaged and damage-controlled."

Paste Magazine

Philadelphia Inquirer

Los Angeles Times

EXCERPT: Aronson's film is a fond portrait, loaded with bizarre, haunting music and Smith's off-kilter inspirations.

Philadelphia City Paper

SFist.com [ blog published by Gothamist ]

http://www.sfist.com/archives/2006/02/07/sf_indie_fest_danielson_a_family_movie.php#more

and

http://www.sfist.com/archives/2007/01/25/interview_jl_aronson.php

EXCERPT: "Danielson: a Family Movie is a must see for any fan of adventurous music or artistic visionaries."

Variety

EXIT (new jersey weekly)