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Drama, Romance, Fantasy • 2019 • 106 min • Teen (13+)

Set in Dakar, Senegal, Atlantics follows Ada, a young woman promised in an arranged marriage while grieving a lover who vanished crossing the Atlantic in search of work. Director Mati Diop weaves romance, ghost story, and social critique into a single film. The Leans Progressive label comes primarily from its framing of illegal migration and unpaid labor as systemic injustice, with the supernatural elements functioning as a kind of reckoning for the economically marginalized. Balancing that, the film depicts traditional family structures and arranged marriage without broad condemnation, treating them as real social fabric rather than targets. The result is progressive in politics, grounded in Senegalese cultural specificity.
Mame Bineta Sane • Amadou Mbow • Traore
Set in Dakar, Senegal, Atlantics follows Ada, a young woman promised in an arranged marriage while grieving a lover who vanished crossing the Atlantic in search of work. Director Mati Diop weaves romance, ghost story, and social critique into a single film. The Leans Progressive label comes primarily from its framing of illegal migration and unpaid labor as systemic injustice, with the supernatural elements functioning as a kind of reckoning for the economically marginalized. Balancing that, the film depicts traditional family structures and arranged marriage without broad condemnation, treating them as real social fabric rather than targets. The result is progressive in politics, grounded in Senegalese cultural specificity.
Mame Bineta Sane • Amadou Mbow • Traore
The film explicitly critiques economic exploitation and systemic injustice, portraying the devastating human cost of unpaid labor and forced migration through a narrative that champions supernatural justice for the marginalized. This aligns with a clearly progressive ideology.
The movie naturally features a diverse cast reflecting its Senegalese setting and cultural context. Its narrative explores themes of migration, gender, and economic disparity, which are inherent to the story's characters and setting, rather than explicitly critiquing traditional Western identities.
The film portrays a society where traditional family structures, strong parental authority, and distinct gender roles are the norm, with an arranged marriage serving as a central plot point. While the protagonist's personal desires challenge this specific tradition, the narrative generally depicts and accepts these traditional family values and community expectations without broadly critiquing them.
Atlantics does not feature any identifiable LGBTQ+ characters or themes. The narrative centers on a heterosexual romance, the struggles of young people in Dakar, and supernatural elements related to migration and unresolved grief. The film's focus remains on these specific social and mystical dynamics, without incorporating queer identities or experiences.
Atlantics does not feature any identifiable transsexual characters or explore transsexual themes. The narrative focuses on a heterosexual romance, economic exploitation, and supernatural elements involving the spirits of drowned male workers returning to haunt the living in Dakar.
The movie does not contain any action or adventure elements.
Atlantics is an original film with characters created specifically for this production. There are no pre-existing canonical or historical figures whose gender was altered for their portrayal in the movie.
The film Atlantics features an original screenplay and characters created specifically for this production. There is no prior source material, historical record, or previous adaptation from which any character's race could have been established and subsequently changed.
Not depicted in the film.
Combines user and critic ratings from four sources























