The hashtag #athena has been trending on Twitter for the past few days following the death of young Nahel and the nights of violence that followed. If you haven’t seen Athena, Romain Gavras’ movie on Netflix, here’s what you need to know.
What is it about?
Recalled from the front after the death of his younger brother, who died as a result of alleged police intervention, Abdel sees his family torn apart. Between his younger brother Karim’s desire for revenge and his older brother dealer Moktar’s threatened business, he tries to calm the tension.
Minutes later, the city of Athena is transformed into a fortified fortress, the scene of a family and collective tragedy. Just when everyone thinks they’ve found the truth, the city descends into chaos…
who is he with
You may have discovered him on TV in Les Sauvages or in the cinema in Dying, you can wait, where he answers Daniel “James Bond” Craig: Dali Bensalah is surprised and explodes in Athena.
He is one of the main ones along with the promising Sami Slimani, who were discovered during the wild casting. Ouassini Embarek plays this fraternal trio at the heart of Romain Gavras’s tragedy.
Greek tragedy in the city
The first teaserAthena Netflix announced our interest in June 2022. A trailer released a few weeks later confirmed our desire to see the new production Romain Gavras (Our day will come, the world is yours).
This time he is surrounded by Ladj Ly (Les Misérables) and Elias Belkedar on the screenplay. So many reasons to be seriously interested in it.
From the very first seconds of the film, Gavras creates a suffocating and disturbing atmosphere: here we are in the middle of an urban guerrilla scene, between Molotov cocktails, an attack on a police station and panic.
The camera rotates, turns, follows the characters one by one without any cuts. An immersive shot that sends a strong message: we’re not here for laughs, and Gavra has no time to waste.
As we say, the topic is scary. Especially given the news and discussion surrounding the release of Bac Nord last year. But Athena is a very smart film centered on a family story. And most importantly, he doesn’t take sides.
The director constantly presented it as a Greek tragedy in the first sense of the term. And the music – created by Gener8ion – further reinforces this approach. Athena is a timeless film that will be relevant as long as men go to war.
The teams chose the Parc aux lièvres area in Evry-Courcouronnes to set up their cameras. This plateau is then arranged to become a maze where the characters get lost. Romain Gavras is the demiurge of the action, and with his camera he depicts the choreography, the dance that takes us from the first scene to the last.
If we had to play the comparison game, Athena seems to begin where Les Miserables ends, while rising in stature. Yes, Athena is a bully. in pictures and what he says. Suffocating, painful, intimate violence that hurts.
It’s all served up by a sequence of “cut” shots shot in IMAX, a technical demonstration that everyone has to agree with.
Let’s also talk about the actors, incredibly accurate, be it a young Sami Slimani, Dali Bensalah which never ceases to amaze or Anthony Bajon as CRS who drives us. As for Alexis Manenti, I will not tell you about it.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
