Atlantics (Atlantique), dir. Mati Diop, France / Senegal / Belgium 2019, 107 min., French and Wolof with English subtitles
Winner of the Cannes Grand Prix, the debut feature from director and actor Mati Diop (35 Shots of Rum) is a haunting, fantastical depiction of young love.
Teenage Ada is in love with Souleiman, a young construction worker in Dakar. Tired of labouring without pay, Souleiman sets off to undertake a treacherous journey across the Atlantic with his fellow aggrieved workers in search of a better life, leaving Ada to face an impending marriage to another man. While Ada grieves her lover, the young men return to Dakar as possessive spirits, unleashing a series of strange and supernatural incidents.
Set to a score by Fatima Al Qadiri, Atlantics is a surreal romance laced with trenchant socio-political commentary.
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