

The Art of Self-Defense
Casey is attacked at random on the street and enlists in a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious Sensei in an effort to learn how to defend himself. What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman fighting for her place in it.
TMDB
6.6/10
879 votes
IMDb
Not rated yet
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- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $1.8M
- Box office
- $2.4M
- Language
- English
- martial arts
- sports
- psychopath
- dark comedy
- karate
- crematorium
- sexism
- cult
- satire
- murder
- dojo
- motorcycle gang
Top billed cast














Behind the camera
Where to watch
All optionsAvailability for India. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Release dates
United StatesUS
- PremiereSouth by Southwest Film Festival10 Mar 2019
- Theatrical (limited)R12 Jul 2019
- Digital / OTT8 Oct 2019
- Physical15 Oct 2019
United KingdomGB
- PremiereEdinburgh International Film Festival21 Jun 2019
- Digital / OTT1512 Jul 2019
AustraliaAU
- PremiereMA15+Melbourne International Film Festival4 Aug 2019
CanadaCA
- PremiereRFantasia International Film Festival11 Jul 2019
- Theatrical (limited)R19 Jul 2019
BelgiumBE
- Physical1812 Jul 2019
BrazilBR
- Digital / OTT1617 Jan 2020
FinlandFI
- PhysicalK-1612 Jul 2019
FranceFR
- Digital / OTT12VOD10 Nov 2019
- Digital / OTT16Netflix11 Nov 2021
GermanyDE
- Premiere16Munich International Film Festival28 Jun 2019
MexicoMX
- TheatricalC13 Sept 2019
PolandPL
- Digital / OTT166 Dec 2019
RussiaRU
- Premiere16+On The Edge East International Film Festival30 Aug 2019
Frequently asked questions
The Art of Self-Defense was released on 12 July 2019.
Audience reviews
2- S8/10
SWITCH.
9/8/2019
‘The Art of Self-Defense’ is a truly funny, dark experience that will polarise audiences, hopefully leaving most of them satisfied. Just try not to think about it too much. - Ashley Teresa Read Ashley's full article... https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-the-art-of-self-defense-a-satire-as-pitch-black-as-a-karate-belt
- G5/10
Gimly
1/17/2020
I went in expecting mumblecore, but got more of a Wes Anderson (which, to be fair, a primary influence of mumblecore). Wes Anderson almost always has violence in his movies, but probably nothing so brutal as _The Art of Self-Defense_. I thought that the whole movie would essentially be setting up Eisenberg as an awkward, meek nerd, who at the very end would go uber-violent, and the joke that they bothered to make a m…
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