Overview
A poignant tale of love and loss set against the backdrop of a city on the brink of change.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- haunting
- melancholic
- dreamy
- reflective evening
- arthouse cinema night
What critics said
Critics broadly acclaimed Mati Diop's atmospheric supernatural drama for fusing migration politics, romantic melancholy, and female solidarity with inventive ghost-story storytelling.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The young men's sea crossing and absence return as a supernatural force affecting the women left in Dakar.
The Atlantic is repeatedly presented as a threatening route to Europe and a mesmerizing space of longing and uncertainty.
Ada, Dior, Fanta, Mariama, and the other young women form a collective presence amid forced marriage, grief, and social pressure.
The unfinished luxury tower symbolizes an aspirational Dakar built by workers who have gone unpaid for months.
Films like Atlantics, and why
His House
supernatural romance, migration themes, and a hauntingly atmospheric treatment of social displacement
The Night of the Kings
melancholic love story shaped by class inequality, female solidarity, and ghostly ambiguity
Timbuktu
poetic supernatural drama rooted in African social realities and collective trauma
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives
dreamlike romantic storytelling that blends political critique with uncanny imagery
Movie Details
- Director
- Mati Diop
- Release Date
- 2019-10-02
- Runtime
- 106 min
- Rating
- 6.7 / 10 (292)
Cast
- Mame Bineta Sane
- Amadou Mbow
- Ibrahima Traore
- Nicole Sougou
- Aminata Kane
- Mariama Gassama
- Coumba Dieng
- Ibrahima Mbaye
- Diankou Sembene
- Abdou Balde
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Atlantics about?
- A haunting Dakar love story turns unpaid labor, forced marriage, and perilous migration into an ocean-borne supernatural reckoning.
- What is Atlantics like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Atlantics as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Atlantics violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Atlantics as mild.
- What did critics think of Atlantics?
- Critics broadly acclaimed Mati Diop's atmospheric supernatural drama for fusing migration politics, romantic melancholy, and female solidarity with inventive ghost-story storytelling.
- Which films are like Atlantics?
- Films with a similar feel include His House, The Night of the Kings, Timbuktu, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
- How long is Atlantics?
- Atlantics runs 106 minutes.
- Where can I watch Atlantics?
- In United States, Atlantics streams on Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads.
