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Nahéma Ricci's hypnotic lead performance anchors Sophie Deraspe Antigone.Courtesy of TIFF

  • Antigone
  • Written and directed by Sophie Deraspe
  • Starring Nahéma Ricci
  • Classification G
  • 109 minutes

Rating:

3.5 out of 4 stars

With one brother dead and another threatened with deportation, Antigone orchestrates a plan to save her living brother by sacrificing her freedom and home in Canada. Adapted for the screen by writer-director Sophie Deraspe, Sophocles’s Theban play touches on issues of justice and morality within the Canadian justice system. Grounded by a hypnotic lead performance by Nahéma Ricci, making her feature debut, the film’s theme and structure feel of the moment as it tackles the nature of identity in an increasingly fractured world. Bolstered by naturalistic art direction and fantastical sequences that bend the fabric of objective reality, the strength of Antigone’s quest for justice remains at the forefront of the film.

Read more: When your breakout film needs a shout-out to Sophocles

New in theatres this week: Canadian triumph Antigone, the powerful She Never Died and the terrible Kindness of Strangers

With great attention to detail paid to constructing environments and building a world filtered through the gaze of social media, Antigone feels prescient and urgent. Without question one of the great Canadian films of the past few years, Antigone takes a classic story and re-interprets it with fresh eyes. Philosophically compelling and emotionally devastating, Deraspe crafts a unique and contemporary cinematic experience that resonates deeply.

Antigone opens Nov. 8 in Montreal, and Dec. 6 at Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox (tiff.net). It will also be the closing-night film at the Cinéfranco film festival in Toronto on Nov. 30 at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema

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