Atlantics

Audience Reviews

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Jorge S @RT34154138 Jul 14 At first glance, it appears to be a love story between young bricklayer Souleiman and 17-year-old Ada—who is betrothed to the wealthy Omar—set against the backdrop of their trials and tribulations in Muslim Senegal. However, the plot gradually introduces ethical and ethnic contrasts, such as the exploitation of near-slave labor, veiled prostitution, and the tension between destitution and consumerism. It is within this setting—characterized by imagery obscured by the dry, arid dust—that the romance evolves into a narrative rich in mystery, religion, mysticism, and police-procedural elements. Alternating between playfulness and lucidity, the screenplay challenges the audience to decipher the true nature of the interplay between these various aspects—though not always successfully. Rating: 6. See more Par H @Parhwy Jun 29 Atlantics (2019) is a 106-minute-long multinational (Senegal, France, Belgium) drama I saw on Netflix in June 2026. I knew nothing of this film until it popped up on my feed while scrolling a film to watch. For that I am glad (that I knew nothing, and that it popped up on my feed). Even watching, this film is not what you expect. This film is windy with background noise – cars, wind, ocean, people, animals – as well as the films music. In a good way. In one scene, the two (background/music) were discordant and initially I was like, "What the?" and then it made sense in the context of the scene. Scenes often last a long time however they have edits to ease the acting and viewing. The story is heart-breaking and yet it’s poetic: construction workers and their families and friends, and the fictional Muejiza Tower in Dakar, Senegal. Rewatch? Maybe. Recommend? Yes. 8/10. See more Brian W @RT98832516 May 16 Truly an amazing movie. Such a unique story and truly moves you and speaks to the power of love. One of my favorites! See more Andy K @andykiddvideo 02/20/2025 Beautifully shot and acted. At times ethereal and enigmatic. Always interesting and engaging. Would highly recommend See more Marco M @RT16520521 12/01/2024 I would like to try and interpret the meaning of an important element of the story; I have not found it explained in the critics' reviews that I have read (I have not read all). There will necessarily be spoilers in my review. I am going to focus on the characters of Ada, Souleimani, and Issa. In the movie characters appear with whitened pupil and iris. First it is only a group of women, then also this happens also to detective Issa. The phenomenon seems to be reversible, i.e., it is for Issa. The movie does not explain explicitly what this entails. My interpretation is that whitened eyes correspond to a situation where these living persons are visited by the souls of the dead youngsters, who flee by boat at the beginning of the movie, and then die in a shipwreck. The group of women subjected to this event are the girl friends and partners of the dead men; in fact the women with whitened eyes try and get money for their dead partners from the building contractors, who had not paid them. Then also Issa experiences the same phenomenon, which is preceded by strong physical distress, and happens for the first time after a confrontation with Ada, whom he is suspecting for arson. My interpretation is that Issa is visited by Souleimani's soul. The reason is that Issa is actually falling in love for Ada, and Souleimani find in Issa a companion soul. This is evident towards the end, when finally Issa and Ada first hug, then kiss, then make love. During the first phase of the unveiling of their tentative love, they hug and kiss in a room with a mirror, where we see in real life Ada and Issa hugging, who are reflected in the mirror by Ada and Souleimani hugging; I believe that this represents the transition from Ada's past life, which is not possible any more because Souleimani is dead, to the new one, where she and Issa fall in love with each other. The arc of the movie goes from when Ada is promised to Omar, whom she despises, but loves Souleimani, to when Ada has succeded in getting rid of Omar (indirectly thanks to Souleimani's death) and is ready to start a new independent life, possibly with Issa (though the movie does not have an obvious happy end). See more Mark H @hemonc 11/03/2024 Incredibly boring. Kept waiting for something interesting to happen; I'm sorry I waited. What a waste. See more Read all reviews

Atlantics

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