Athena (2022) review

Brothers Abdel (Dali Benssalah), Karim (Sami Slimane) and Moktar (Ouassini Embarek) come together after their 13-year-old brother Idir was killed by the police and the video went viral (echoing the George Floyd incident in the United States) - they want to know who the names of the people who are responsible, and they even take a Fed hostage.  The issue of brutality at the hands of the men (and women) in Blue is extremely timely and very important (Gavras' father has always been interested in politics and corruption), but the nuances of a heated situation are turned into a visual free-for-all in which the camera swoops around and zooms through hallways and the streets, with the protestors firing off colorful fireworks: it's made for the eyes and not the mind.  It concludes with a question that warrants contemplation: is it possible for a group of extremists to "stage" an event that could actually lead to civil war and societal collapse? (The answer, most likely, is an unfortunate "yes.")