La Gradiva

A high school trip to Naples becomes the staging ground for a profound coming-of-age experience in cinematographer Marine Atlan’s spellbinding directorial debut. Exhausted-yet-persistent Latin teacher Mme. Mercier is desperate to convince her unruly students to open their eyes and absorb the world around them. They are a mercurial, memorable bunch, headlined by the troubled Toni, his headstrong best friend James, and the quiet, pensive Suzanne.

Atlan’s superb sense for staging and rhythm combines with her cooly captivating camerawork to tease out impeccable performances from the film’s outstanding young cast. Surrounded by a bustling Naples, with its storied art and architecture, and the looming Mount Vesuvius, the class’s teenage struggles take on a mythic proportion.