Athena

This is very good. The initial scene is one of the best intros...in the cinema history. As simple as that. Technically the film is always great and one of those that I would really have preferred to watch in a cinema room. Unfortunately, Netflix doesn't want that.

I see some people criticising the plot or the script. Well, the plot is good IMO. For a film that happens in one night I think it touches in many things and isn't even politically correct (a lot of the spectators would have preferred to blame only the police because for them is always white and black). The script is...honestly, good enough? Yeah, some dialogue is not that great, but what do you think would be the real dialogue in a situation like this one? Do you really know how these people or most people usually speak in these scenarios?

A very good film. Really surprised to see this is the first film of one of the main actors and one of those films that will force me to watch previous films of this director.

ATHENA is an urban war movie with a political touch by Romain Gavras who follows the lead of his father -the Greek well known director and screenplay writer- Costa Gavras. The film is all about how the lives of 3 French siblings with an Algerian descent immerse into chaos after the death of the fourth younger brother under unclear circumstances. The pain of the loss becomes rage and then... BOOM! Everything explodes at ATHENA building complex in Paris and the social strife begins. Although the film has all the necessary elements to be mentioned as a contemporary Greek tragedy and besides the insane long take opening scene it also has a lot of weak spots and blurry motives.

Every aspect is high quality. Put any scene in a vacuum & it's incredible. The issue is that it's the same thing every scene. Minimal plot & character development. Powerful performance & messages but it feels numbingly repetitive.

. .

. Every aspect is high quality. Put any scene in a vacuum & it's incredible. The issue is that it's the same thing every scene. Minimal plot & character development. Powerful performance & messages but it feels numbingly repetitive.

. .

. Every aspect is high quality. Put any scene in a vacuum & it's incredible. The issue is that it's the same thing every scene. Minimal plot & character development. Powerful performance & messages but it feels numbingly repetitive.

As "Athena" (2022 release from France; 99 min) opens, a guy of Algerian descent announces at a police station that his younger brother, just 13 yo, has died resulting from police brutality, and that the police is investigating who is responsible. The guy urges for calm. But before we know it, someone throws a Molotov cocktail into the police station, and it sets into motion the looting of the police station... At this point we are less than 10 min into the movie.

Couple of comments: this is the latest from French director Romain Gavros, best known for shooting edgy music videos. Here Gavros brings the fictional tale of a suburban (filmed in a Paris banlieue) uprising following yet another instance of police brutality. While fictional, it feels all too familiar of course. Heads up: the opening sequence that lasts about 10 minutes is insanely intense, and... brought in a single take. In fact the long takes are a recurring feature in the film (I honestly don't know how some of these shots are even possible). The movie's tension is palpable from the get-go and really doesn't let up. The no-names cast is quite good, in particular the main character Abdel, played by French-Algerian actor Dali Bensallah. Bottom line: this revenge crime drama grabbed my attention from start to finish. But if intensive and over the top violence is not your thing, better stay away.

"Athena" premiered earlier this month at the Venice film festival to positive buzz. It started airing on Netflix this weekend. After seeing a positive write-up in Friday's New York Times, I just had to check it out. Glad I did. If you are in the mood for a very intense revenge crime drama set in a French banlieue, I'd readily suggest you check this out and draw your own conclusion.

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.