Atlantics is one of the year’s most unique films – hands down. It’s a fable, a folktale, a ghost story, an effective examination, and a timeless romance wrapped into one. Its African setting will make you sweat from the day’s heat while the sea it sits next to will make the air smell of saltwater. This is a film that is both beautiful to look at and haunting in its commentary. Take notice, because French-Senegalese director Mati Diop (who won the Grand Prix at Canne, a first for a black woman) may have invented a new genre.
Atlantics is the tale of Ada (Mame Bineta), a young Senegalese woman in Dakar who is arranged to be married to the wealthy Omar (Babacar Sylla), much to the envy of most of her friends. The problem is that she’s in love with Souleiman (Ibrahima Traoré), a poor construction worker. One night, Souleiman and his friends, whose conniving boss refuses to pay them for several month’s worth of work, set sail for Spain hoping to find better jobs. They are never seen again.
Soon, strange occurrences begin to happen in Dakar, including mysterious arsons and a feverish affliction that seems to affect a select number of the city’s young women and a police detective. Ada is under suspicion for a fire in the home of her arranged fiance but is too consumed with finding her missing lover Souleiman to care much about that. As things unfold, the true nature of the ghostly phenomena is revealed and justice is meted out with a special brand of otherworldly commitment.
At the heart of Atlantics is the story of a love that transcends death, but to leave it at that would be reductive. It’s also about the availability of opportunity, exploitation, and the economic forces that drive people into dangerous situations. The same extreme emotion that brings young Souleiman back to his beloved Ada is the very one that drives his doomed mates on their quest for rest and revenge. Dime-a-dozen romance stories would have you believe that love is the strongest emotion, but Atlantics supposes that economic scarcity and desperation can be as equally powerful.
In addition, Diop mashes up masculine and feminine archetypes in some of the creepiest ways I’ve seen on film, elevating questions about the nature of gender and its role in society. This commentary and its subtle presentation add new levels of depth to a film already steeped in giving voice to formerly unheard ones. That it does so with so much style and originality is just gravy. But honestly, you had me at “supernatural romance from Senegal.”
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.