Astrakan Explained

Astrakan
Starring:	Mirko Giannini Jehnny Beth Bastien Bouillon
Cinematography:	Simon Beaufils
Editing:	Martial Solomon
Studio:	Tamara Films
Director:	David Depesseville
Producer:	Carole Chassaing Anaïs Feuillette
Distributor:	Tamara Films
Runtime:	105 minutes
Country:	France
Language:	French

Astrakan is a 2022 French coming-of-age drama film directed by David Depesseville, starring Mirko Giannini, Jehnny Beth and Bastien Bouillon.

Cast

• Mirko Giannini as Samuel
• Jehnny Beth as Marie
• Bastien Bouillon as Clément
• Theo Costa-Marini as Luc
• Lorine Delin as Helene
• Cameron Bertrand
• Nathaël Bertrand

Reception

Neil Young of Screen Daily called the film an "engrossing exercise in empathetic humanism, unhurried and uninflected".^[1]

Georgia Del Don of Cineuropa wrote that the film is "far more" than a "precise account of the ambiguous and vertiginous time marking the transition from childhood to adolescence."^[2]

Martin Kudlac of ScreenAnarchy wrote that despite the film being a "social allegory disguised as a coming-of-age tale imbued with the latent cringe cruelty of Todd Solondz's poetics", the film "works" as a "concentrated representation of the agony and confusion of growing up."^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: 'Astrakan': Locarno Review. Young. Neil. 9 August 2022. Screen Daily. 30 September 2022.
2. Web site: Review: Astrakan. Del Don. Georgia. 11 August 2022. Cineuropa. 30 September 2022.
3. Web site: Locarno 2022 Review: ASTRAKAN, Social Allegory Disguised As Coming-of-Age Tale. Kudlac. Martin. 25 August 2022. ScreenAnarchy. 30 September 2022.