Tribeca Review: “Mario”

Mario (Peter Kunhardt/George Kunhardt/Teddy Kunhardt, 2026) 3½ out of 5 stars

Mario Cuomo (1932-2015) served three terms as the governor of New York State, from 1983 to 1995, losing his bid for a fourth term against Republican George Pataki. At the height of his popularity, Cuomo offered a powerful progressive voice in opposition to the social Darwinism of the Reagan-Bush era. Though he declined to run for president, he very much influenced the shape of politics during his tenure, as the new documentary Mario—from the family team of Peter, George, and Teddy Kunhardt—makes abundantly clear.

It’s a rousing tribute, and though it leans into hagiography, a fairly three-dimensional one. We hear a variety of voices, if none from the opposing side, discuss his many strengths (and weaknesses) as a leader. His children—three daughters and two sons, including Andrew, a former governor of New York himself, albeit a disgraced one—are very present, and sing the praises of their father, in often quite-moving ways.

Cuomo’s was a value-based system of beliefs. You were either true to yourself or not, and either served the people or not. He fought hard for state budgets that would deliver social services to New Yorkers at a time when Reagan and company were slashing federal subsidies. While Republicans preached individualism and austerity, Cuomo preached love.

We see a prime example of this approach to politics over the issue of abortion. Cuomo was a devout Catholic, the proud son of Italian immigrants, and had suffered anti-Italian bigotry early in life. Though a man of faith, he believed that abortion rights were the law of the land and that if you didn’t believe in abortion, you shouldn’t have one; but leave the rights of others to have them alone. This caused conflict between him and Catholic leaders of the day, including Archbishop John J. O’Connor of the City of New York. Some even called for Cuomo to be ex-communicated. But he stuck to his principles, delivering a speech at Notre Dame University in which he laid out his reasons for doing so.

At the 1984 Democratic National Convention, Cuomo gave the keynote address, articulating a liberal alternative to Reagan’s gauzy (and vapid) “Make America Great Again” slogans (yes, Reagan said it, too). The ticket of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro may have lost in a landslide, but many Democrats took to Cuomo’s vision and tried to draft him for 1988. He dithered, but eventually said no. National politics is only really for those willing to give up everything.

And he was not. At the end of the day, Cuomo was a profoundly human soul, and when he lost against Pataki in 1994 was perfectly content to return to practicing law and spend time with family. And though I dearly wish the film included points of view from those aligned against his approach—it would be interesting to hear what conservatives thought of him—Mario still proves thoroughly engaging, just like its subject.

Christopher Llewellyn Reed

Chris Reed is the editor of Film Festival Today. A member of both the Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) and the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, Chris is, in addition, lead film critic at Hammer to Nail and the author of Film Editing: Theory and Practice.