On the Adamant
Official Berlinale poster
Directed byNicolas Philibert
Produced by
  • Céline Loiseau
  • Gilles Sacuto
  • Miléna Poylo
CinematographyNicolas Philibert
Edited by
  • Janusz Baranek
  • Nicolas Philibert
Production
companies
Distributed byLes Films du Losange
Release dates
  • 24 February 2023 (2023-02-24) (Berlinale)
  • 19 April 2023 (2023-04-19) (France)
Running time
109 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Japan
LanguageFrench

On the Adamant (French: Sur l'Adamant) is a 2023 French-language documentary film directed by Nicolas Philibert. The work portrays the floating structure L'Adamant Day Center, located on the Seine river in Paris. The structure is a special daycare center for the treatment of adults with mental disorders.[1]

It won the Golden Bear at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival,[2] where it had its world premiere on 24 February 2023.[3] The film was also nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Film Award.[4] It was released in French cinemas on 19 April 2023.[5]

Content

The film is a portrait of the L'Adamant Day Center in Paris. This is a floating building located at the foot of the Charles de Gaulle Bridge on the right bank of the Seine. The unique daycare center welcomes adults with mental disorders from the first four arrondissements of Paris. It offers patients a daily routine that is structured in terms of time and space and helps them to regain their footing in everyday life with therapeutic workshops and psychosocial rehabilitation support.[6] The Adamant team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, occupational therapists, specialist educators, psychomotor specialists, care coordinators, hospital staff, and various external artists and art therapists.[7]

Production

Film crew of On the Adamant

The director Nicolas Philibert was aware of the project of the Adamant in the early 2010s through psychologist and psychoanalyst Linda de Zitter, whom he had known since the filming of La Moindre des choses (lit. 'Nothing but trifles') in 1995. Seven or eight years later, when the project was completed, he met a workshop group at L’Adamant on their invitation and as he said, "I came away particularly invigorated, spurred on by the remarks of the people who were there." So, when he planned to make the documentary he was free of worries about the architecture of the film, he was convinced that the unity of place and the 'characters' would allow him an undisciplined construction, as he said "Following a character, losing him, finding him later, filming a meeting, a workshop, welcoming a newcomer, informal exchanges... And fixing all those little details that we might find trivial and which would become the very fabric of the film being made."[8]

Release

On the Adamant premiered on 24 February 2023 as part of the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival, in competition. As of March 2023, it is scheduled for release in French cinemas on 19 April 2023.[5]

It was invited to Horizons section of 57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, where it was screened on 30 June 2023.[9] The documentary also made to 2023 Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival held from September 16 to 24, 2023.[10] The film competed at the 2023 Calgary International Film Festival in 'International Documentary Competition' for Best International Documentary Feature award and had screening on September 22.[11]

The film was screened at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in 'Icon' section on 6 October,[12] and was screened at the 2023 BFI London Film Festival in 'Strand' section under 'Debate' theme on 12 October, 2023.[13]

The documentary was also invited to the 2023 Vancouver International Film Festival in 'Insights' section and screened on 5 October 2023.[14] It was selected as European Documentary for the 36th European Film Awards held on 9 December 2023.[15]

Reception

On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes website, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 9 reviews, with an average rating of 7.1/10.[16] On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 5 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[17]

Jordan Mintzer, for The Hollywood Reporter, stating that the film presents "an artful look at outsider artists", opined that "On the Adamant ultimately becomes a moving testament to what people are capable of, if they could just find the right place to do it."[18]

Guy Lodge, reviewing at the Berlin Film Festival for Variety, wrote, "On the Adamant might not achieve the crossover success Philibert has found in the past, but it’s a warm reminder of his perceptive gifts...."[19] Fabien Lemercier reviewing for Cineuropa praised the director: "Philibert's is a supple and natural approach, both methodical and poetic, which demonstrates great human and cinematographic understanding and which smoothly and modestly establishes contact in an environment where you have to find the right keys to connect."[20]

Jonathan Romney for ScreenDaily wrote in a review that the film is "engaging and affirmative". Romney stated that, in contrast to the more detached observational approach of the Frederick Wiseman school, "The film is more about character and human presence, as opposed to depicting the overall functioning of this institution."[21]

David Robb reviewing on Slant Magazine rated the film with two and a half out of four stars and opined that, "The task of representing mental illness and those afflicted by it can be a precarious tightrope walk for a documentarian ...", and appreciating the director's presentation, Robb wrote, "... and it’s to Nicolas Philibert's credit that he mostly avoids tumbling into sensationalism or mawkish sentimentality."[22]

Accolades

While announcing the award Kristen Stewart, the jury president called the film "masterfully crafted" and a "cinematic proof of the vital necessity of human expression." Philibert asked in his acceptance speech if the jury members were "crazy"[23] and yet nevertheless thanked them, saying "that documentary can be considered to be cinema in its own right touches me deeply."[24]

Nicolas Philibert, with the Golden Bear for On the Adamant

On the Adamant was nominated for European Documentary award in the 36th European Film Awards on 7 November.[25] The awards ceremony will take place on 9 December in Berlin.[26][27]

Award Date Category Recipient Result Ref.
Berlin International Film Festival 26 February 2023 Golden Bear On the Adamant Won [2]
Berlinale Documentary Film Award Nominated [4][28]
Prize of the Ecumenical Jury: Special Mention Won [29]
European Film Awards 9 December 2023 European Documentary Nominated [25]
Lumières Award 22 January 2024 Best Documentary Pending [30][31]
Lux European Audience Film Award March 2024 European Audience Film Award Nominated [32]

Listicle

Publisher Year Listicle Placement Ref.
Screen International 2023 15 films that stood out at Berlin 2023 2nd [33]

References

  1. ↑ Philibert, Nicolas (8 February 2023). "On the Adamant". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 8 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 Lodge, Guy (25 February 2023). "French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Golden Bear at Berlin". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  3. ↑ Rosser, Michael (23 January 2023). "Berlin Film Festival reveals 2023 competition line-up". Screen. Archived from the original on 24 January 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  4. 1 2 "Films nominated for the Berlinale Documentary Film Award". Berlinale. 1 February 2023. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Sur l'Adamant" [On the Adamant]. AlloCiné (in French). Archived from the original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  6. ↑ "On the Adamant, A film by Nicolas Philibert". les films du losange. 4 January 2023. Archived from the original on 22 January 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  7. ↑ "Services De Soins" [Care Services]. The Hospitals of Saint-Maurice (in French). Archived from the original on 13 February 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  8. ↑ "On the Adamant". AlloCiné (in French). Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  9. ↑ "57th Karlovy Vary International Film Festival: Horizons". Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 2 August 2023.
  10. ↑ Goh, Clement (23 August 2023). ""Cinéfest Sudbury marks 35 years with focus on comedy and vampires"". CBC Northern Ontario. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
  11. ↑ "CIFF: On the Adamant". Calgary International Film Festival. Retrieved 9 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Icon: People I met at Adamant in Paris : On the Adamant". Busan International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  13. ↑ Ntim, Zac (31 August 2023). "BFI London Film Festival Full Lineup: 'The Book Of Clarence' World Premiere; Scorsese, Miyazaki, Lanthimos & Fincher Among Headline Galas". Deadline. Retrieved 1 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "Vancouver International Film Festival: On the Adamant". Vancouver International Film Festival. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  15. ↑ "Documentary Film Selection 2023". European Film Awards. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  16. ↑ "On the Adamant (Documentary 2023)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 7 March 2023.
  17. ↑ "On the Adamant". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  18. ↑ Mintzer, Jordan (24 February 2023). "'On the Adamant' Review: Nicolas Philibert's Touching Exploration of Creativity and Mental Illness". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 24 February 2023.
  19. ↑ Lodge, Guy (24 February 2023). "'On the Adamant' Review: Nicolas Philibert Returns With a Tender Tour of a Mental Health Sanctuary". Variety. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  20. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (24 February 2023). "Review: On the Adamant". Cineuropa. Archived from the original on 24 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  21. ↑ Romney, Jonathan (24 February 2023). "'On The Adamant': Berlin Review". ScreenDaily. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  22. ↑ Robb, David (1 March 2023). "On the Adamant Review: A Tender, If Half-Sketched, Survey of a Mental Health Haven". Slant Magazine. Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  23. ↑ Thomas Rogers (25 February 2023). "French Documentary 'On the Adamant' Wins Top Prize at Berlin Film Festival". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 27 February 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  24. ↑ "Etre et Avoir director Nicolas Philibert wins Golden Bear at Berlin film festival". The Guardian. 25 February 2023. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  25. 1 2 Goodfellow, Melanie (7 November 2023). "'Fallen Leaves' & 'The Zone Of Interest' Top European Film Award Nominations In Main Categories". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
  26. ↑ "Documentary Film Selection 2023". Europeans Film Awards. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  27. ↑ Rosser, Michael (30 August 2023). "European Film Academy reveals documentary contenders for 2023 awards". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 28 October 2023.
  28. ↑ Nikkhah Azad, Navid (2 February 2023). "Berlinale Documentary Award Jury 2023". Deed News. Archived from the original on 17 February 2023. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  29. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (25 February 2023). "Berlin: '20,000 Species of Bees,' 'Totem' Among Independent Jury Winners". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 25 February 2023. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
  30. ↑ Lemercier, Fabien (14 December 2023). "Anatomie d'une chute domine les nominations pour les Lumières". Cineuropa (in French). Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  31. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (14 December 2023). "'Anatomy of a Fall' Leads Lumières Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 December 2023.
  32. ↑ Silva Vilas, Jesús (1 September 2023). "20,000 Species of Bees, Fallen Leaves, On the Adamant, Smoke Sauna Sisterhood and The Teachers' Lounge to vie for the 2024 LUX Audience Award". Cineuropa. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  33. ↑ Halligan, Fionnuala (2 March 2023). "15 films that stood out at Berlin 2023". ScreenDaily. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
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