Strange River [Estrany riu] **** (2025, Jan Monter, Nausicaa Bonnín, Jordi Oriol, Francesco Wenz, Bernat Solé, Roc Colell) – Classic Movie Review 13,861

Jan Monter stars in the 2025 Spanish-German coming-of-age drama film Strange River [Estrany riu] as a Spanish teenager who travels with his family by bicycle along the Danube and meets a mysterious stranger (Francesco Wenz).

Jan Monter stars in co-writer/ director Jaume Claret Muxart’s 2025 Spanish-German coming-of-age drama film Strange River [Estrany riu] as 16-year-old Dídac, who travels by bicycle along the course of the Danube with his Spanish family during a summer holiday. He seems pretty much like your average decently brought-up middle-class kid, a bit dazed and confused.

But then he meets the mysterious Alexander (Francesco Wenz), who appears and disappears in the river’s waters and on shore, and begins to grow up. Dídac and Alexander appear to get together, but then Alexander just vanishes, leaving Dídac adrift, all at sea in the boat in the middle of the vast river.

Dídac’s mum (Nausicaa Bonnín) is a struggling actress, his dad (Jordi Oriol) an architect, and he has two younger brothers, one who adores him. HIs parents are loving and nice, but really quite boring, confident and resolved, but pretty much at sea themselves. They have had their coming-of-ages a long time ago, and this is where it has landed them. It is probably Dídac’s last holiday with his family. He’s about to find a life of his own. But what kind of life? He’s a nice, thoughtful, dreamy boy. Probably a wonderful life. If he follows his dreams.

This deeply emotional movie is sweet, imaginative, romantic and quite affecting, moving, touching, really quite lovely. It moves effortlessly between the realistic and the fanciful, producing and entrancing dream-like state. It is totally its own thing, running at its own pace, quite unique, nothing quite like it.

It is a gay coming-of-age coming-of-age drama film, yes, but is it a sexual awakening or a romantic awakening? Is any of it really happening, or not? Way to subtle to be pinned down to any of that. It clearly explores the theme of desire in the various characters, not only the burgeoning gay desire of the hero. The need for something outside ourselves that we don’t yet fully have that would complete us or complement us. There is an idea of impermanence too. We will only be here once, so grab it, enjoy it if you can.

The river is too often seen as a metaphor in films, and is often lazy or banal, or simply vaguely pretty and picturesque, but it is used fully and copiously, and successfully here. It is the central image and device, the film’s main stage, and in the title!

The cast are Jan Monter Palau as Dídac, Nausicaa Bonnín as Mònica, Jordi Oriol Canals as Albert, Francesco Wenz as Alexander, Bernat Solé Palau as Biel, Roc Colell Moncunill as Guiu.

Jaume Claret Muxart’s directorial debut Strange River [Estrany riu] premiered in the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice Film Festival on 29 August 2025, and was released in Spanish cinemas on 3 October by Elastica Films.

Running time: 105 minutes.

© Derek Winnert 2026 – Classic Movie Review 13,861

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