There’s something about summer that always seems to bring a great coming-of-age story, when innocence fades and the real lessons of growing up begin. In Gamma Rays, Henry Bernadet takes a raw, unfiltered look at adolescence, following a group of kids in Montreal’s immigrant communities as they navigate identity, friendship, and survival in a world that barely acknowledges them. With the gritty energy of a UK youth drama and the unapologetic realism of Larry Clark’s Kids, Gamma Rays is a striking, unflinching portrait of life outside adult supervision.
The young cast delivers astoundingly natural performances, bringing an effortless authenticity to the film. The story follows three central figures: Fatima(Chaimaa Zinedine), tough and independent, balancing a life of fun and mischief with something far darker lurking beneath the surface; Abdel (Yassine Jabrane), coming of age and searching for his identity, only to have his world disrupted by his loud, overbearing cousin; and Toussaint (Chris Kanyembuga), a loner who finds a bottle with a phone number inside and decides to call, setting off a chain of unexpected events.
Beneath the surface, Gamma Rays unfolds with layered complexity, blending social realism with an almost dreamlike intensity. At times, it feels like a collision of sci-fi surrealism and Less Than Zero’s descent into self-destruction, drawing you deep into the fragile yet defiant world these kids inhabit.
As someone who grew up in low-income housing, I recognize these stories—not just the struggles but the imagination and resilience that emerge from having so little. The children who grow up in environments like this often become the most creative, the most resourceful, because they have no choice.
Gamma Rays is a beautiful, mesmerizing, and haunting dark fairytale, reflecting reality through the eyes of those often overlooked. These are the kids society forgets, dismisses, and fails, and in that neglect, the world forces them into roles they never wanted. But if you look closer, you’ll always find them searching—for a way out, for something better, or maybe just for connection.
We are better for films like Gamma Rays.
Rating: 4.5/5
Director: Henry Bernadet
Screenwriter: Henry Bernadet, Nicolas Krief, Isabelle Brouillette
Producer: Vuk Stojanovic, Henry Bernadet, Jean-Martin Gagnon
Cast: Chaimaa Zinedine, Chris Kanyembuga, Yassine Jabrane, Hani Laroum, Océane Garçon-Gravel
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