La Gradiva

In the shadow of Vesuvius, a group of French teenagers on a class trip to Naples grapple with the anxiety and exhilaration of their upcoming high school graduation amid the ancient ruins of Pompeii. Toni (Colas Quignard), adrift and impulsive; his best friend, James (Mitia Capellier-Audat), popular, alluring, and self-possessed; and Suzanne (Suzanne Gerin), an aspiring artist who feels rejected by her peers, contemplate faded frescoes and debate their generation’s aspirations and shortcomings. While their exhausted but motivated teacher Mme. Mercier (Antonia Buresi) attempts to direct their attention to their breathtaking surroundings, the students’ passions and insecurities lead them toward an irreversible fracture.