Athena

Sami Slimane in Athena

Romain Gavras' Athena has a kinetic rush that sweeps the viewer along, but fail to provide much in the way of thematic development or characterization. The murder of a teenager in a French project (the titular Athena) sparks rioting among its population of Muslim immigrants. Three brothers of the victim, a rebel leader (Sami Slimane), a hardened criminal (Ouassini Embarek) and a cop (Dali Benssalah), are swept up in a maelstrom of events that soon spiral out of control. Gavras does a good job of choreographing the mayhem and making Athena a tangible presence.

However, much of what underpins Athena fails to hold up in retrospect. Gavras' view of modern France, pictured here as on the verge of civil war, is overly hysterical. More damaging are the lapses in characterization. In particular, the main character of the cop, Abdel, whose actions belie any consistency. Athena is an impressive technical achievement that is less than the sum of its parts.