Police Brutality and Systematic Violence: How Athena 2022 Uses a Complex and Real Situation as a Successful Plot Guide

Romain Gavras is known for his great visuals and gruesome, but somewhat real depiction of violence, as it was previously critiqued in No Church in the Wild (Kanye West & Jay Z) and Born Free (M.I.A.) Music Videos. Gavras’ latest work, Athena 2022 does not disappoint, and from the very start we, as the audience, are dragged deeper and deeper into the Parisian slumps, where riots against police brutality and racial profiling quickly evolves into straight up terrorism. In other words, this film encapsulates a real issue that affects society nowadays, using parallelisms with other hate crimes around Europe and the US.

Chaos, state violence, political commentary, and suspense. This movie has everything, and more. Gavras’ new movie was released last month on Netflix, and it’s great!

The movie kicks off after the brutal assassination of a young boy. After this tragic event, his three older brothers must face the harsh reality as their surroundings quickly escalates and drags each of them deeper into insanity. Violence and controversy are two of the main factors driving the plot from the very start, dividing the story in three different perspectives and storylines, creating the following dilemma: Who’s in the right?

Karim (played by Sami Slimane) firmly believes that the police is to blame for what happened to his younger brother, becoming the powerhouse and leader of the Parisian youth against police brutality. Everyone in the ‘banlieue’ sees him as a messiah, a force against systematic oppression, and a gateway to finally achieving change. His older brother, Abdel (portrayed by the very talented Dali Benssalah), is a high-ranking police officer with the very difficult task of maintaining order during the buildup of riots orchestrated by Karim, whilst having to mourn his youngest brother at the same time.

The conflict is present from the start, with tension always getting more nauseating with each passing minute. Plot-wise the movie is very strong, and visually the movie pulls you in thanks to the amazing camera work and editing. In addition, the score is also captivating, and the sound editing does justice to every scene, showcasing how talented Athena’s 2022 crew really is.

Overall, the movie gets a strong 7/10. There’s moments where the movie seems repetitive, and the narrative kind of drags by the very end, trying to surprise us with plot twist after plot twist.

Before continuing with this review, keep in mind that there will be spoilers from now on:

Karim’s and Abdel’s relationship reminds me of a teenager failing to communicate with his older brother (or father figure?). His rage comes from a very understandable point, but the way he is blinded by his sudden “power” gained makes him a very dislikable character. He is portrayed as the antagonist, but it’s difficult to not sympathize with him when the message he’s representing resonates with the social and cultural climate today. There’s no need to draw comparatives here, but I feel like his dialogues made his character feel void of real emotion (and that’s a lot to say when Karim is literally driven by the death of his younger sibling).

Personally, I feel like the oldest brother (the drug dealer) wasn’t necessary to the story. His whole involvement makes everything seem lazy, and of no real use. He contributed nothing to the storyline and was only used as the factor that drove Abdel to the edge, transforming him into the new face of the rebellion.

Other character that was only there for dramatic purposes was Sébastien, disappearing after his introduction during the first 20 minutes and then miraculously being there for when the plot needed him the most. The audience is expected to believe that he had a very good understanding of explosives, following Abdel instructions just when he turns mad. His only real use was for a more captivating ending sequence, blowing up a whole building floor and making Abdel another martyr.

By the end of the movie, we finally see how in reality, the little boy was murdered by an extremist group. Their motifs are then spoon-fed to us, making the whole movie a political critique, and undermining what Abdel and Karim went through. After the events of the movie, France starts to undergo a huge social justice movement, led by minorities and those who sympathized with either Karim and/or Abdel. But honestly, I feel like this could’ve been done differently, maybe showcasing more clues around the movie.