Why ‘La Gradiva,’ the Surprise Sensation of Cannes, Is Now the Essential Debut of the Fall

This year’s Cannes Film Festival was overstuffed with masters of European and Asian cinema — Hamaguchi, Farhadi, Almodóvar, Kore-eda, Mungiu, Pawlikowski, Zvyagintsev and so on.

Some of their anticipated new works landed better than others; a select few are now making the fall-festival rounds in hopes of gaining some Oscar momentum.

But on the Croisette back in May, one teen-centered drama programmed outside of the Main Competition emerged as the clear critical favorite that no one saw coming: La Gradiva , Marine Atlan’s debut feature, which went on to win the Grand Prize in the Critics’ Week sidebar. ( The Hollywood Reporter ‘s review called it a “stunning feature debut,” and it remains at 100 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.) Related Stories Movies 'Magazine' Review: A Deceptively Modest, Keenly Observed Snapshot of a Young Woman's Coming of Age Within an Industry on the Brink Movies Warner Bros.

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