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Atlantics
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Wikipedia article
{{Infobox film
| name = Atlantics
| image = Atlantics 2019 film poster.jpg
| caption = Film poster
| director = Mati Diop
| producer =
| writer =
| starring =
| music = Fatima Al Qadiri
| cinematography = Claire Mathon
| editing = Al Dallier Vega
| studio =
| distributor =
| released =
| runtime = 104 minutes
| country =
| language =
}}
'Atlantics' is a 2019 internationally co-produced supernatural romantic drama film directed by Mati Diop, in her feature directorial debut. It was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival. Diop made history when the film premiered at Cannes, becoming the first Black woman to direct a film featured in competition at the festival.
The film is centered around a young woman, Ada, and her partner, Souleiman, struggling in the face of employment, class, migration, crime, family struggles, and ghosts. Working mostly with unknown actors, Diop focused in the film on issues such as the refugee crisis, remorse, loss, grief, class struggle, and taking responsibility (or not) of one's actions. The Atlantic Ocean is used in many ways throughout the film, including as a symbol and engine for change, growth, life, and death.
Plot
In a suburb of Dakar that lies along the Atlantic coast, a futuristic-looking tower is about to be officially opened. The construction workers have not been paid for months. One night, the workers decide to leave the country by sea, in search of a brighter future in Spain. Among them is Souleiman, the lover of Ada. However, Ada is betrothed to another man the wealthy Omar. Ada is deeply worried about Souleiman, as she waits for news of his fate in the run-up to her wedding. On her wedding day, Omar's bed mysteriously catches fire in a suspected arson attack, and a young detective is assigned to investigate the case.
In the coming days, Ada falls under suspicion and is subjected to interrogations and a virginity test. Meanwhile, her friend Fanta, as well as the young detective are suffering from a mysterious illness. It slowly emerges that the spirits of the men lost at sea have returned and each night take possession of the bodies of other inhabitants of Dakar. Most have their focus on the tycoon who withheld their pay, forcing them to go across the sea. They demand their pay, threatening to burn the tower down otherwise. When they receive their pay from the tycoon they force him to dig their graves so that their spirits may rest. But Souleiman wants only to be with Ada. Unfortunately, he has possessed the young detective, which initially scares Ada. But as she meets the other spirits, including one who possesses Fanta, she comes to understand and spends a last night with the new Souleiman. While reviewing footage from the wedding, the detective sees that he, under the possession of Souleiman's spirit, was the one who committed the arson. He closes the case.
Cast
Reception
Critical reception
The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that of critics have given the film a positive review based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads, "An unpredictable supernatural drama rooted in real-world social commentary, 'Atlantique' suggests a thrillingly bright future for debuting filmmaker Mati Diop." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 85 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".Hannah Giorgis of 'The Atlantic' commented, "In 'Atlantics', the Cannes Grand Prixwinning film by the French-Senegalese director Mati Diop, the water is both a threat and a source of comfort. With soft camerawork and pointed dialogue, Diop casts a shadow over the sea and all its possibilities... The result is a transportive love story with an undercurrent of social critique that manages to be at once haunting and hopeful." K. Austin Collins writing for 'Vanity Fair' stated, "'Atlantics' stuns and surprises because it tries to pull off something slippery and hard to define, a ghost story (or is it a zombie story?) thats rooted in the material reality of Dakar and its lower classes, thats openly political, accordingly, but which also seems flickering and unreal, alive to whatever these mysteries have in store." Bilal Qureshi of NPR said, "'Atlantics' is a ghost story about migration. It dramatizes the stories of the young men who leave countries like Senegal in hopes of reaching Europe, and how their absence and their loss haunts the women they leave behind." Jay Weissberg writing for 'Variety' stated, "The capricious ocean is a recurrent, mesmerizing image in Mati Diops feature debut 'Atlantics', but given its perfidious connotations for the people of Senegal, whove lost so many souls to its depths, the director ensures the rolling waves remain hypnotic rather than beautiful. Its the right decision for this romantic and melancholy film, more apt than some of the flawed narrative choices that frustrate though dont compromise the atmosphere of loss and female solidarity in the story of a young woman whose love has died at sea."
Justin Chang in his review for the 'Los Angeles Times' noted, "Drawing on a potent vein of local mythology, Diop weaves these paranormal elements into her canvas with thrift, ingenuity and bracing matter-of-factness. In her hands, a vengeful ghost seems no more absurd or irrational than, say, the futuristic high-rise tower thats being erected on the coast." Kelsey Adams of 'Now' gave the film four stars out of five and wrote, "Although its a migrant story, it focuses on those left behind. As the distressed women grapple with the departure of their men, things turn increasingly uncanny. Unexplained arson and illnesses shift 'Atlantics' into supernatural territory, and Diop incorporates elements of Muslim mysticism and French folklore without being gimmicky. The deft blend of fantasy and drama uses supernatural elements to home in on the abundant, unjust realities the characters face." David Fear of 'Rolling Stone' gave the film four and half stars out of five, commenting "even when things start to dip into supernatural territory, Atlantics remains oddly grounded, still dedicated to tackling a topical subject without being dogmatic. You feel as if youre watching something thats region-specific, yet it never makes its characters feel like others. Nor do you ever sense that the act of giving these often agency-less females a voice is something based in charity, because Diop makes the endeavor feel like a necessity." Namwali Serpell of 'The Nation' stated, "In its origins in Arabian thought, a djinn can be good or bad. In its origins in the black diaspora, a zombie is a slave forced to do the bidding of others. Diop mixes the two phenomena to the same counterintuitive end: The dispossessedmale and female, management and laborrise up not as the enemy but as the communal hero."
In her review for 'The Hollywood Reporter', Leslie Felperin noted, "Exquisitely shot by Claire Mathon and lushly scored by Fatima Al Qadiri, the film pulls together some exceedingly strong components [...] A lot of ideas about class, post-imperialism and spiritual values peek up out of the surface of the text, but theyre not developed with much rigor compared to what Diop conjured with more intensity and less time in 'A Thousand Suns.'" Richard Brody of 'The New Yorker' noted, "Diop films the characters and the city with a tactile intimacy and a teeming energy that are heightened by the soundtracks polyphony of voices and music; she dramatizes the personal experience of public mattersreligious tradition, womens autonomy, migration, corruptionwith documentary-based fervor, rhapsodic yearning, and bold affirmation." Monica Castillo of 'RogerEbert.com' gave the film four stars out of four, commenting, "On the surface, this is a familiar story of lovers kept apart by circumstances beyond their control, but 'Atlantics' quickly reveals itself to be so much deeper that. Diop, who co-wrote the screenplay with Olivier Demangel, blends the story with the desperation that forces them to leave home and loved ones, echoes of the refugee crisis, a look at the exploitation of the poor by the wealthy and the fetishization of virginity, purity, and marriage. The mystery of 'Atlantics' unravels slowly, its gentle twists keep surprises hidden in plain sight."
'The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw gave the film four stars out of five and wrote, "'Atlantique' is about the return of the repressed, or the suppressed: the men who were denied their rightful pay on the building site then faced the real possibility of a watery grave. Their spirit rises up, and this becomes a ghost story or a revenge story. 'Atlantique' may not be perfect, but I admired the way that Diop did not simply submit to the realist mode expected from this kind of material, and yet neither did she go into a clichd magic-realist mode, nor make the romantic story the films obvious centre. Her film has a seductive mystery." IndieWire's Eric Kohn gave the movie B+ grade and noted, "As it ventures further along its spellbinding path, 'Atlantics' remains a deeply romantic work that magnetized the fears of people trapped by their surroundings and striving for the companionship that can rescue them from despair. It doesnt quite let them get there, but Diop doesnt strike a hopeless tone the whole way through. Ultimately, 'Atlantics' shows how that even these bleak circumstances can have empowering ramifications for the women trapped by the shore, and why its a portal to a better life even if they stay put."
Accolades
At Cannes, the film won the Grand Prix. It was selected as the Senegalese entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 92nd Academy Awards, making the December shortlist.'Atlantique' won Best First Feature in IndieWire's 2019 Critics Poll, and was ranked fourth in Best Foreign Film.
Former United States President Barack Obama named 'Atlantics' among his favorite films and television series of 2019 in his annual list of favorite films, which he released on Twitter on 29 December 2019.
Home media
In January 2020, it was announced that 'Atlantics', 'The Irishman', 'Marriage Story' and 'American Factory' would receive DVD and Blu-ray releases by The Criterion Collection.
See also
* List of submissions to the 92nd Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
* List of Senegalese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
References
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