This review originally ran in conjunction with the film’s world premiere at the 2022 Venice Film Festival.
For those still under the erroneous impression that police brutality against Black people and other communities of color exists as an exclusively American form of racially motivated violence, “Athena,” an explosive drama (figuratively and literally) from French director Romain Gavras, son of legendary auteur Costa-Gavras, disproves it.
Over the course of one fateful day in the aftermath of the brutal killing of a boy of Middle Eastern descent at the hands of a group of white men — either comprised of cops, members of a far-right clan, or perhaps one and the same — chaos erupts in the disenfranchised Parisian neighborhood of Athena, as young people revolt in response to such injustice.
Almost immediately dropping us into the action, Gavras opens “Athena” with one of cinematographer Matias Boucard’s incredibly impressive one takes that carry...
For those still under the erroneous impression that police brutality against Black people and other communities of color exists as an exclusively American form of racially motivated violence, “Athena,” an explosive drama (figuratively and literally) from French director Romain Gavras, son of legendary auteur Costa-Gavras, disproves it.
Over the course of one fateful day in the aftermath of the brutal killing of a boy of Middle Eastern descent at the hands of a group of white men — either comprised of cops, members of a far-right clan, or perhaps one and the same — chaos erupts in the disenfranchised Parisian neighborhood of Athena, as young people revolt in response to such injustice.
Almost immediately dropping us into the action, Gavras opens “Athena” with one of cinematographer Matias Boucard’s incredibly impressive one takes that carry...
- 9/23/2022
- by Carlos Aguilar
- The Wrap
It’s always tempting to fetishize single-shot sequences — to look for visible seams in their making, to wonder how many times it took to nail the final take, to get caught up in the meticulous, Milton Bradley’s Mouse Trap choreography of it all. Some are great, some are merely show-offy, and others go from bravura to self-indulgent simply by outstaying their welcome by 30 seconds. It’s usually just look-ma-no-cuts razzle dazzle, a bit of filmmaking virtuosity designed to have viewers wondering, “How did they do that?” The more pertinent question,...
- 9/8/2022
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
Click here to read the full article.
With his incendiary 2019 debut feature, Les Misérables, director Ladj Ly brought the urban unrest, the police brutality and the festering social and racial inequality of the Paris banlieue drama La Haine hurtling into the 21st century, its belly aflame with righteous anger and indignation. Ly serves as a writer and producer on Romain Gavras’ Athena, which is both a companion piece to those films and a thundering amplification of their themes. Where the earlier works built to stunning crescendos of violence, Athena is a live grenade, beginning in full ignition mode and dialing up its intensity throughout with virtuoso technique.
That latter factor will surprise no one familiar with the output of Gavras, son of renowned Greek director Costa-Gavras, who made a mark with his dynamic music videos for artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z and M.I.A. His third feature is a...
With his incendiary 2019 debut feature, Les Misérables, director Ladj Ly brought the urban unrest, the police brutality and the festering social and racial inequality of the Paris banlieue drama La Haine hurtling into the 21st century, its belly aflame with righteous anger and indignation. Ly serves as a writer and producer on Romain Gavras’ Athena, which is both a companion piece to those films and a thundering amplification of their themes. Where the earlier works built to stunning crescendos of violence, Athena is a live grenade, beginning in full ignition mode and dialing up its intensity throughout with virtuoso technique.
That latter factor will surprise no one familiar with the output of Gavras, son of renowned Greek director Costa-Gavras, who made a mark with his dynamic music videos for artists including Kanye West, Jay-Z and M.I.A. His third feature is a...
- 9/2/2022
- by David Rooney
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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