"zama" received widespread acclaim from critics. on review aggregator website rotten tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 95% based on 85 reviews, with an average rating of 8.3/10. the website's critical consensus states, ""zama" offers a series of scathingly insightful observations about colonialism and class dynamics — and satisfyingly ends a long wait between projects from writer-director lucrecia martel." metacritic, another review aggregator, assigned the film a weighted average score of 88 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". following its screening at the toronto international film festival, "the a.v. club"s a.a. dowd gave the film a b+ grade and wrote: ""zama", despite its setting, isn’t such a radical departure for martel; it preserves her talent for tracking an individual through chaotic social spheres".