29/08/2025 - VENICE 2025: Jaume Claret Muxart's debut is a beautiful and sensitive physical and mental journey towards the discovery of sexual desire and the first stirrings of individuality - in short, of freedom

There are films that, little by little, frame by frame, seduce the viewer, drawing them into a unique yet recognisable world and ultimately leaving an imprint that lingers in the memory for weeks, even months. Strange River, Jaume Claret Muxart's first feature, is one of them. Audiences at the 82nd Venice Film Festival are already discovering this, following its world premiere in the Orizzonti section. Spanish audiences will soon have the chance as well, when it is released in cinemas across Spain on 3 October, distributed by Elasticity and Linde Films.

And that moment, the beginning of autumn, is the perfect time to reminisce about the summer just gone, or the many summers that lit up our childhood and youth. That pleasant, enjoyable summer, with its harmonious sounds, its sticky warmth capable of erupting into sudden storms, and the ever-present water, that blessed element that saves us from the excesses of heat. It is in this season, busy with events but at the same time seemingly suspended in time, where almost anything seems possible, that the action of this feature film unfolds. Shot on 16mm in an organic, joyful, colourful and intimate style, it carries an extraordinary sensitivity and a subtle poetic aura.

The plot is simple, but there is plenty of room for empathy and daydreaming: Dídac (played by a magnetic newcomer, Jan Monter), aged sixteen, is cycling along the banks of the Danube with his family; his mother, an actress preparing for a role (Nausicaa Bonnín); his father, an architect who insists on detours to visit buildings (Jordi Oriol); and his two younger brothers. But an unexpected encounter alters the course of their journey: a mysterious boy appears in the river. His enigmatic presence awakens something new in Dídac, while also altering his relationship with his own family.

As Fernando Fernán Gómez said in the title of his masterpiece, Las bicicletas son para el verano, here too chance encounters and the awakening of sexuality take centre stage in the months of longest daylight, as in Call Me by Your Name [+see also:
trailer
Q&A: Luca Guadagnino
film profile]. Elusive figures sparking flashes of desire, instinctive pursuits and a new gaze on the world fuel the film’s mystery — which sisterhood is depicted in embraces and quarrels, in furtive glances and devoted admiration.

This film –brimming with truth, as it is told from personal experience with the author's heart laid bare– speaks of all this and more. Each viewer will colour it with their own memories of family and holidays, the turbulence of puberty and, as in the film’s closing moments, their favourite melodic songs, be they French, Italian or Spanish.

Strange River is co-produced by the Spanish companies ZuZú Cinema and Miramemira, together with the German company Schuldenberg Films. Its international sales are managed by Films Boutique.

(Translated from Spanish)