In this film seeped in sunshine with rhythmic hints of fleeting childhood fantasy, Jaume Claret Muxart's debut is a sensitive, poetic and intuitive exploration of adolescent awakening.
Tender, enigmatic and gorgeously shot on 16mm, Strange River sustains its mood of mystery and suggestion.
Strange River 2025
Estrany Riu
Sixteen-year-old Dídac is spending his summer on a cycling trip along the Danube with his family. The meandering journey is punctuated by stops for his architect father to admire buildings and for his mother to reminisce about the trip once taken in her youth. Along the way, the river provides reprieve from the heat, and as Dídac comes to learn, the water is also a site of reflection and transformation in this ethereal, contemplative coming-of-age film.
As Dídac sojourns farther along the Danube, its ebbs and flows complement his emotions as he considers his sexual awakening. He is drawn to a mysterious boy, Alexander, whose enigmatic yet unsettling presence disrupts the family dynamic. As he pursues Alexander, Dídac's perceptive younger sibling, Biel, quietly tries to make sense of the changes in his brother in a poignant observation of how sibling relationships evolve with age.
Dídac's parents evoke a keen sense of nostalgia for summers past while their children give the film a sense of cautious optimism. A delight for the senses, the cinematography seamlessly flows and the film's visual observations are accompanied by the ambient sounds of summer.
- Madison Marshall