what is this film about which will make a lot of people talk

An urban tragedy. On September 23, Netflix made available on its platform the last film directed by Romain Gavras : Athena. In 2019, Ladj Ly was released Wretched. The film followed a BAC team and its tensions with the population of a city after a mistake on a young boy. If the film stopped just before the confrontation, Athena, presented in the official selection at the Venice Film Festival, goes further and follows civil war-like conflict between Athena’s neighborhood and law enforcement.

This escalation of violence comes after the death of Idir, in troubled circumstances, which literally sets Athena ablaze. The young boy’s three older brothers are torn about the attitude to adopt in response to this death. Between family tragedy and societal drama, Athena is built around the fight that takes shape in the city transformed into battlefields. “We shaped it like a fortified castle, explained Romain Gavras to Vanity Fair. There are barricades in the spirit of those made in medieval times with species of spikes. The conflict is contemporary, but could have taken place at any time in history, from the Trojan War to the present day.

The new explosive project of Romain Gavras

Molotov cocktails, CRS brigade and organized chaos… Athenalike Hatred or some Miserablesdepicts the tensions around police killings. And it is no coincidence that Romain Gavras surrounded himself with Elias Belkeddar and Ladj Ly for the writing of his screenplay. As for the casting, the director turned to established actors, such as Alexis Manenti, Caesarized for his role in Wretched, or Birane Ba, resident of the Comédie Française, only towards inexperienced actors. One of the main roles is held by Sami Slimane, playing one of Idir’s brothers, who signs there his first acting performance. “I was immediately struck by its disarming fragility”had declared about him Romain Gavras for Vanity Fair.