Amanda Seyfried leads a feverish, true-story musical about belief, power, and the price of building a utopia. It’s intense, physical cinema, and in Rotterdam you can even catch it the old-school way on 70mm film.
Film details
- Title: The Testament of Ann Lee
- Premiere date: 26 February 2026
- Director: Mona Fastvold
- Runtime: 136 min
- Where to watch in Rotterdam: KINO | Cinerama | LantarenVenster
- Plot / synopsis: Mona Fastvold tells the true story of Ann Lee, the visionary founder of the Shakers. Amanda Seyfried plays a leader who preaches gender and social equality and is revered by her followers, even as her radical ideas trigger fear and backlash. Moving from industrial England to the promise and pressure of a new life in America, the film tracks the ecstasy and struggle of building a community around discipline, faith, and devotion. Traditional Shaker song and dance are reimagined as hypnotic musical sequences, turning history into something immediate and bodily.
- Language & subtitles: English spoken, Dutch subtitled
- Age rating: 16
- Notable visual / thematic hooks: 70mm presentation, religious musical, Shaker hymns reimagined, choreography-driven storytelling, belief as a force, equality and resistance, intimate epic scale
What’s the vibe?
A historical musical that feels like a ritual you’re watching from inside the circle. It’s not a polite period drama. It’s fervent, strange, and gripping, with moments that land like a sermon, then suddenly like a threat.
Trailer
Check out the trailer below.
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Why you might like it
- Eyes: rich period imagery with a tactile, filmic look, especially if you catch the 70mm screenings.
- Heart: Seyfried gives a fierce, vulnerable performance that makes devotion feel personal, not abstract.
- Mind: it’s a sharp study of charisma and community, plus the pushback that arrives when people stop fitting into their assigned roles.
Critical reception
Critics have largely praised the film’s ambition and Seyfried’s central performance, even while acknowledging it can be polarising. On Rotten Tomatoes it sits at 87% from 174 critic reviews, with an 82% audience score from 100+ verified ratings. Metacritic lists a Metascore of 80 based on 40 critic reviews, which signals generally favourable reception.
Scene to watch for
The first full communal sequence where song, movement, and belief lock together. It’s the moment the film stops feeling like biography and starts feeling like lived experience.
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Recommended pairing
- Food: something warming and simple before the screening, then a small sweet treat afterwards to soften the edges.
- Activity: a quiet walk along the river or through the centre after the film, then a debrief chat about what makes a leader inspiring versus dangerous.
Need-to-knows
- 70mm screenings: KINO lists select showtimes as 70mm, which is part of the appeal here.
- Content note: the age rating is 16, and the tone includes intensity and confrontation, not just hymn-singing serenity.
- Musical style: this is built around traditional Shaker song and dance, reworked into staged sequences, so expect music and movement to carry story, mood, and meaning.
