Strange River
Strange River is a 2025 coming-of-age drama film directed by Jaume Claret Muxart, in his directorial debut feature. It stars newcomer Jan Monter, alongside Nausicaa Bonnín, Jordi Oriol and Francesco Wenz. It is a Spanish-German co-production.
The film had its world premiere at the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 29 August 2025. It was theatrically released in Spain on 3 October by Elastica Films.
Plot
The plot explores the sexual awakening of teenager Dídac upon coming across a mysterious boy in the waters during a bicycle trip with his family along the Danube.Cast
- Jan Monter as Dídac
- Nausicaa Bonnín
- Jordi Oriol
- Francesco Wenz
- Bernat Solé
- Roc Colell as Guiu
Production
The film is a Spanish-German co-production by ZuZú Cinema and Miramemira alongside Schuldenberg Films. It had the participation of 3Cat and funding from Eurimages, ICAA,, FFF Bayern, and. Shooting locations included the German state of Baden-Württemberg.Release
The film landed its world premiere in the Orizzonti section of the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on 29 August 2025. Its festival run also included screenings in the 'Zabaltegi-Tabakalera' section of the 73rd San Sebastián International Film Festival, the 22nd Reykjavík International Film Festival, the section of the 30th Busan International Film Festival, and the New Directors competition of the 61st Chicago International Film Festival.Distributed by Elastica Films, it was released theatrically in Spain on 3 October 2025.
Reception
Jonathan Romney of Screen International welcomed that Claret Muxart "shows a canny awareness of the tropes", "giving them a fresh, sensitive working-over" in the film, which "sustains its mood of mystery and suggestion" throughout.Marta Medina del Valle of El Confidencial rated the film 4 out 5 stars, declaring it "delicate, poetic, and certainly nostalgic".
Rubén Romero Santos of Cinemanía rated the film 3½ out of 5 stars, singling out as its sensory perception or hapticity as its most notable contribution.
Matthew Joseph Jenner of International Cinephile Society rated the film 4½ out of 5 stars, billing it as a "an intimate, human story of identity that draws from a long tradition of coming-of-age narratives and stories of the birth of queer desire".
The jury of the Reykjavík International Film Festival awarding Strange River the Golden Puffin extolled how Claret Muxart "reveals a precocious and accomplished talent that never indulges in mannerisms or formalism", celebrating the film as "a complex symphony of unspoken yet deeply perceived emotions".