Drift

2024 1h 33m EL

😐

6.1

MID

★6.1TMDB · 27

DramaRomance

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After fleeing civil war in Liberia, a formerly-privileged refugee is barely scraping by in her new life in Greece when she strikes up an unexpected friendship with a rootless tour guide.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Cynthia Erivo
Jacqueline Kamara
Alia Shawkat
Callie
Ibrahima Ba
Ousmane
Honor Swinton Byrne
Helen
Zainab Jah
Etweda Kamara
Suzy Bemba
Saifa
Vincent Vermignon
Michael
Abigail Boyd
Adele

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Anthony Chen
Writers: Susanne Farrell, Alexander Maksik
Languages: Greek, English
Countries: Belgium, China, France, Greece, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States of America

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

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Greek, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 7 countries: Belgium, China, France, Greece, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Anthony Chen, shot by Crystel Fournier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ré Olunuga. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Hoping Chen 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

Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat and Ibrahima Ba carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt20415224 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Anthony Chen directs. Crystel Fournier behind the camera. Ré Olunuga scores. Hoping Chen cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Belgium, China, France, Greece, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in Greek, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 2 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Greek, English.
3International production across 7 countries: Belgium, China, France, Greece, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Directed by Anthony Chen, shot by Crystel Fournier. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ré Olunuga. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Hoping Chen shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Cynthia Erivo and Alia Shawkat and Ibrahima Ba carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt20415224 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 27 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Crystel Fournier
Original score: Ré Olunuga
Editing: Hoping Chen
Production design: Danai Elefsinioti
Costume design: Matina Mavraganni
VFX supervisor: Antonis Kotzias
Sound: Bruno Tarrière
Stunt coordinator: Sotiris Kraniotis
Runtime: 93 min · 1h 33m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EL
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Drift (2024)

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Anthony Chen

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-03-20
★ 6/10
To be honest, I was a little disappointed with this story. It's clear that Cynthia Erivo has put her heart and soul into it, but the story just has too many holes in it for me. We first meet her "Jacqueline" character as she wanders the streets of a small greek island town pinching the sugar sachets. Quickly, we discover that she has barely more than the clothes she stands up in, sleeps on a blanket in a sheltered cave and gets about blagging trips on tourist buses. Via flashbacks we are told of her privileged background in her native Liberia and of a love affair with a British woman (Honor Swinton Byrne) in London, and what's clear is that neither idyll seems destined to endure. The former, indeed, is played out across the course of the film in a rather brutally predicable fashion. Fortunately, she encounters tour guide "Callie" (Alia Shawkat) who's getting a bit fed up with the day-in day-out routine with her elderly visitors who just want to say they've "done" the place. Gradually the two start to bond and maybe there's a little light at the end of the tunnel for "Jacqueline"? Both women deliver well enough here, but there are just too many elements missing or under-developed. How did she get here for a start? Too much of her trauma has to be assumed or guessed at and not that I wanted graphic scenes, I did want to know a little more about just what made "Jacqueline" tick. The production is all adequate, and for a while the repetitive photography serves well to illustrate the dead-end nature of her existence, but I just think this missed an opportunity to develop the story of "Jacqueline" a bit more comprehensively.

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