[3] Revisiting his ancestral homeland, director Khalik Allah takes his audience on a spiritual, visual, and tactile journey through Jamaica, discovering new depths and beauty in the island and those who continue to call it home.

The site's consensus reads: "A transfixing ode to geographic and familial roots, Black Mother pays poetic tribute to a place and culture from a brilliantly unique perspective.

"[5] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 based on 10 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

[6] Citing the film as his 9th favorite movie of 2019, K. Austin Collins of Vanity Fair wrote, "The film capitalizes on what Allah does best: an audio track mismatched from the visual landscape just so, so that words and images stand alone while also together, ricocheting and complicating each other.

Allah films people at home, on the street, in the midst of giving birth; he compiles it all into an energetic meditation on maternity and identity that stirs the soul.