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La Gradiva

Play trailer Poster for La Gradiva 2h 25m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 20 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Verified Ratings
In the shadow of Vesuvius, a group of French teenagers on a class trip to Naples grapple with the anxiety and exhilaration of their upcoming high school graduation amid the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Toni (Colas Quignard), adrift and impulsive; his best friend, James (Mitia Capellier-Audat), popular, alluring, and self-possessed; and Suzanne (Suzanne Gerin), an aspiring artist who feels rejected by her peers, contemplate faded frescoes and debate their generation's aspirations and shortcomings. While their exhausted but motivated teacher Mme. Mercier (Antonia Buresi) attempts to direct their attention to their breathtaking surroundings, the students' passions and insecurities lead them toward an irreversible fracture. Winner of the Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize, Marine Atlan's revelatory debut feature imbues the coming-of-age story with a sense of mythic grandeur in this work of classical beauty and overwhelming emotion. Working as her own co-cinematographer, Atlan captures the dizzying contradictions of youth with an almost documentary-like precision.

Cast & Crew

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Marine Atlan

Director

Colas Quignard

Toni

Suzanne Gerin

Suzanne

Mitia Capellier-Audat

James

Antonia Buresi

Mme. Mercier

Marine Atlan

Screenwriter

Critics Reviews

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Peter Howell Toronto Star Sep 19, 2026
A naturalistic, quietly transporting gem by Marine Atlan. Go to Full Review Jessica Kiang Variety Sep 15, 2026
Simply one of the most piercingly accurate and immersive portrayals ever, of that fleeting moment when you are simultaneously the most forcibly socialized and possibly the loneliest you will ever be. Go to Full Review William Repass Slant Magazine Sep 11, 2026
3.5/4
If Federico Fellini’s Satyricon treats the ancient Romans as ultimately unknowable beings inhabiting the alien planet of antiquity, La Gradiva finds in them a familiar pathos. Go to Full Review Doug Jamieson The Jam Report Sep 16, 2026
4.5/5
A beautifully constructed and utterly transporting portrait of youth suspended for one fleeting moment between history and whatever comes next. Go to Full Review Hector A. Gonzalez InSession Film Jun 8, 2026
A
It is in Atlan’s portrayal of our fears and desires when young that La Gradiva is so entrancing and effective, offering a beautiful meditation on the bittersweet inevitability of growing up. Go to Full Review Martin Tsai The Film Stage Jun 5, 2026
Atlan captures adolescence not as innocence lost, but as consciousness arriving all at once—thrilling, humiliating, and impossible to contain. Go to Full Review Read all reviews
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La Gradiva

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the shadow of Vesuvius, a group of French teenagers on a class trip to Naples grapple with the anxiety and exhilaration of their upcoming high school graduation amid the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Toni (Colas Quignard), adrift and impulsive; his best friend, James (Mitia Capellier-Audat), popular, alluring, and self-possessed; and Suzanne (Suzanne Gerin), an aspiring artist who feels rejected by her peers, contemplate faded frescoes and debate their generation's aspirations and shortcomings. While their exhausted but motivated teacher Mme. Mercier (Antonia Buresi) attempts to direct their attention to their breathtaking surroundings, the students' passions and insecurities lead them toward an irreversible fracture. Winner of the Cannes Critics' Week Grand Prize, Marine Atlan's revelatory debut feature imbues the coming-of-age story with a sense of mythic grandeur in this work of classical beauty and overwhelming emotion. Working as her own co-cinematographer, Atlan captures the dizzying contradictions of youth with an almost documentary-like precision.
Director
Marine Atlan
Producer
Inès Daïen Dasi
Screenwriter
Marine Atlan, Anne Brouillet
Distributor
1-2 Special
Production Co
Les Films du Poisson
Genre
Drama
Original Language
French
Release Date (Theaters)
Dec 18, 2026, Limited
Runtime
2h 25m
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