A look at the extraordinary film critic Pauline Kael (1919-2011) as seen by her contemporaries and through excerpts from her writings. The interviews are accompanied by a fresh and creative montage of scenes from groundbreaking works of cinema. This biographical film shows the difficult path that Kael had to follow to become one of her country’s most influential critics. It looks at key moments in her career from the perspective of cinematic history and the principles that determined her style. Kael believed that a sense of responsibility towards oneself, the audience, and the filmmakers produced the best possible work in terms of both style and content. But like an artist, she also heeded instinct when writing, loved her chosen field unconditionally, and blazed her own trail regardless of the risk.