Evolution

2016 1h 22m FR

😐

5.9

MID

★5.9TMDB · 240

MysteryDramaHorror

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

11-year-old Nicolas lives with his mother in a seaside housing estate. The only place that ever sees any activity is the hospital. It is there that all the boys from the village are forced to undergo strange medical trials that attempt to disrupt the phases of evolution.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Max Brebant
Nicolas
Roxane Duran
Stella
Julie-Marie Parmentier
La mère
Mathieu Goldfeld
Victor
Nissim Renard
Franck
Pablo-Noé Etienne
The fourth boy
Nathalie Legosles
The Doctor
Chantal Aimée

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Lucile Hadžihalilović
Writers: Lucile Hadžihalilović, Alantė Kavaitė, Geoff Cox
Languages: French
Countries: Belgium, France, Spain

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

82 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 10 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Belgium, France, Spain.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović, shot by Manuel Dacosse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Nassim Gordji-Tehrani shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Max Brebant and Roxane Duran and Julie-Marie Parmentier carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt4291590 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lucile Hadžihalilović directs. Manuel Dacosse behind the camera. Nassim Gordji-Tehrani cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, France, Spain. Dialogue in French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

182 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Released 10 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: Belgium, France, Spain.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Lucile Hadžihalilović, shot by Manuel Dacosse. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Nassim Gordji-Tehrani shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Max Brebant and Roxane Duran and Julie-Marie Parmentier carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt4291590 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Manuel Dacosse
Editing: Nassim Gordji-Tehrani
Costume design: Jackye Fauconnier
VFX supervisor: Guillaume Le Gouez
Sound: Fabiola Ordoyo
Runtime: 82 min · 1h 22m
Status: Released
Original language: FR
IMDB: Evolution (2016)

Also by

Lucile Hadžihalilović

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2025-01-03
★ 7/10
Perhaps it's because I watched this when it is -4 outside, but this is quite a chillingly haunting film that is probably most notable for the powerful efforts of the eleven year old Max Brebant as "Nicolas" and the very intangibility of just where and when this is all set. Ostensibly, he's living in a small village populated by women and young lads like himself. There are no grown-up men anywhere to be seen. When he goes swimming one afternoon he makes quite a startling discovery and it's his disclosure of that to his mother (Julie-Marie Parmentier) and her reaction that starts to stimulate interest from the audience in just what is going on in this peaceable, rather regimented, place. "Nicolas" is determined to get to the bottom of his new found mystery and as he explores he finds things his young brain struggles to rationalise (as did mine). Things become more curious when he is admitted to an hospital where the most peculiar medical procedures are carried out on him and on his friend "Victor" (Mathieu Goldfield) - but what they seem to be achieving beggars belief! It's the prevailing ambiguity that makes this an interesting film to watch. It has little actual structure and though there is a chronology of sorts throughout, we are never entirely (or even remotely) certain of our footing here. There's a glimmer of light towards the end when he and his sympathetic nursing friend "Stella" (Roxane Duran) appear to offer us some sort of solution, or explanation - but even then, a lot of this is left to our own imaginations about what we think it is/was all about. It's quirky and unusual and worth eighty minutes - but don't expect to get to the end with many answers.
griggs792025-03-28
★ 6/10
Evolution left me weirdly hooked and a bit confused. It’s a slow, creepy watch—really striking to look at, but it keeps things pretty vague. I liked the eerie vibe and all the strange, squirmy moments, though it did get a bit frustrating. Classic Hadžihalilović—answers not included.