I know Bilge Ebiri quite well and, although our tastes don’t always align, he sure as hell wouldn’t just throw hyperbole at a film.

With that being said, Bilge just proclaimed Roman Gavras’ “Athena” as “one of the greatest films I’ve ever seen.” I don’t remember the last time I saw a film and proclaimed these same sentiments, most of the time I let a film deep and simmer in my head before espousing stuff like that. To each their own.

Gavras’ film just screened at Venice and has a 74 on Metacritic — not, by any means, an all-timer. However, It could very well be France’s Oscar submission, unless Alice Diop’s “Saint Omer” overshadows it next week (which I believe it will). There just wasn’t this kind of buzz for French films at Venice, and we have two here that might break out.

I’ve seen “Athena” and I can tell you that it’s very flashy … and obvious. Its opening scene is magnificent, but it can’t sustain the momentum built up in the first half hour or so. Gavras wants to operate on intensity, and yet he forgets that you also need character development to keep the viewer invested. There’s virtuosity-galore in “Athena”, but little else. You’re left entertained and exhausted at the same time.