Athena

2022 [FRENCH]

Action / Drama / Thriller

26
Rotten Tomatoes Critics - Rotten 70% · 67 reviews
Rotten Tomatoes Audience - Upright 70% · 250 ratings
IMDb Rating 6.8/10 10 25131 25.1K

Plot summary

Hours after the tragic death of their youngest brother in unexplained circumstances, three siblings have their lives thrown into chaos.

Director

Romain Gavras Photo
Romain Gavras

Top cast

Dali Benssalah Photo
Dali Benssalah as Abdel
Sami Slimane Photo
Sami Slimane as Karim
Sigala Katerina Photo
Sigala Katerina as Vaso
Jérôme Gaspard Photo
Jérôme Gaspard as Homme camionnette
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 2160p.WEB
913.6 MB
1280*608
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr   us   ar   ca   cz   dk   de   gr   es   eu   fi   gl   il   hr   hu   id   it   ja   kr   ms   no   nl   pl   pt   ro   ru   sv   th   tr   uk   vi   cn  
24 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 5
1.84 GB
1920*912
French 5.1
NR
Subtitles fr   us   ar   ca   cz   dk   de   gr   es   eu   fi   gl   il   hr   hu   id   it   ja   kr   ms   no   nl   pl   pt   ro   ru   sv   th   tr   uk   vi   cn  
24 fps
1 hr 39 min
Seeds 11
4.44 GB
3840*2160
French 2.0
NR
Subtitles fr  
23.976 fps
N/A
Seeds 2

Movie Reviews

Reviewed by ryanpersaud-59415 8 / 10

If Justice's Stress Became a Movie

Athena is a bleak, almost dystopian look at the near future of France, a country familiar with racial tensions. We follow three brothers: Karim, a revolutionary leader of the community in revolt, Athena (Salimane), Abdel, a respected military man (Dessalah), and Moktar, a drug dealer (Embarek), as they reel from the death of their brother Idir, at the hands of police.The death, supposedly the third in one month, leads to an uprising reminiscent of the 1871 Paris Commune, where the city essentially seceded from France for a year. Athena follows the chaos and starts with possibly the best intro of 2022: a blistering, intense one take that introduces the movie with an incredible bang. It's so good I've watched the intro itself three times.But Athena doesn't let up from there; this isn't a movie that bogs itself down in drama and conversation. It's high octane, kinetic, and a feast for the senses. This is a gorgeous movie; the cinematography so perfectly captures the chaos and finds beauty in it. There are literal shots from this movie that I could see being album covers. The music is epic; orchestral mixed with booming synth that gives this very contemporary story a timelessness. It's as if we're watching an ancient siege take place in the 21st century. I can't gush enough about the amazing music, especially that sinister main theme.The performances are also excellent; Salimane and Dessalah in particular convey a lot with their facial expressions; I fully understood the dynamics of their complicated relationship even though they shared the screen together quite briefly.When I first watched Athena, I was a bit disappointed by the lack of substance to the story; while we get clues as to why the anger that is displayed in the film - the anger of immigrant communities vis a vis their interactions with the police in suburban Paris - the world we're entering isn't *fully* disclosed to us.There are also some plot developments that I don't think make a ton of sense, and the movie begins to falter a bit for me by Act III. There's a plot development and we're sort of rushed into a the third act; the people I watched this movie with were shocked the movie was ending so quickly. It felt like we could've and should've gotten more.But, the fact that I could watch this movie with others and know they'd be entertained is kind of a miracle. The French tend to make films about their society collapsing along racial and religious lines quite a bit. It's something I would never really expect to see from American filmmakers, and it's incredible to see it so often from France (I'm thinking of movies like Frontieres, Les Miserables etc.).If you want to introduce audiences to French cinema, you really can't get better than Athena. It's an incredible, accessible, and very rewatchable movie. I highly recommend it, because I guarantee you're probably not going to see anything like it.
Reviewed by jamielonghead 8 / 10

Don't Listen to The Contrived Negative Reviews

This film is great. All the losers slamming it are just low-key right-wing supporters who are disappointed it didn't end up like they were thinking it would. It was heading the way they wanted and then when it took a turn they got pissed. They can't fathom the situation, so they have to cry foul. It doesn't fit with their perception of how things "really are" so they have to bash it. It's a fictitious story, but they would have you believe that it's too far removed from reality, which is not the case.The "critics" trying to rip on technicalities like cinematography or camera work or whatever are just reaching here. I'm a video editor. This film is incredibly shot. Almost every scene is a one-shot continuous camera shot and done perfectly. And these people are complaining about it?! They're just reaching for something that isn't there because the actual subject matter makes them uncomfortable. The lighting in every scene is superb, and the backdrop is unwaveringly urban to the point you can taste the concrete. It's near perfect. It is so well done.Just watch this film and enjoy it for what it is. Don't let these fake and butt-hurt "reviewers" deprive you of an excellent watch. They always feel the need to come on here and try to dissuade you right away because it's not up their alley, but don't miss out on an overall top-notch flick.
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