La Gradiva

Pompeii is a place where time stands still. For Toni and his classmates, however, time seems to be flying by: their school days are drawing to a close and the adult world awaits. With La Gradiva, cinematographer Marine Atlan makes her haunting feature-length debut, a sensual coming-of-age story that takes her young characters to southern Italy, amidst petrified bodies and ancient frescoes. Their own lives could still go in any direction. Glances meet, attractions shift, and every gesture suddenly seems of vital importance. With loud music, a big mouth and a pile of missed deadlines, Toni (Colas Quignard) manages to get on the nerves of his teacher, Mercier (an amazing Antonia Buresi), without fail. Surrounding him are his best friend James (Mitia Capellier-Audat), the observant Suzanne (Suzanne Gerin) and a class full of young people who philosophise about the world just as readily as they give each other a hard time. Atlan relies largely on newcomers, who bring a disarming authenticity to their characters. Desire, friendship, sex, status: nothing is entirely set in stone.

The title La Gradiva is a nod to Wilhelm Jensen’s 1902 novella of the same name, in which an archaeologist becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman depicted on an ancient relief. Sigmund Freud later eagerly embraced the story, which also inspired the Surrealists. It is right up Atlan’s street, as she allows her characters to observe, fantasise and project. Tenderness and insecurity blend effortlessly with self-importance and, at times, merciless cruelty.

Together with Pierre Mazoyer, Atlan captures southern Italy in warm, grainy images, bathed in sunlight and almost detached from the passage of time. This vision immediately earned her the Grand Prize at Critics’ Week in Cannes. But above all, La Gradiva takes the intense emotions of its young characters very seriously. Some moments of euphoria and humiliation do not fade away as you grow up. They remain, like imprints beneath the ashes.