The Adamant is a unique day-care centre. A floating structure located on the Seine in the heart of Paris, it welcomes adults suffering from mental disorders, offering the kind of care that grounds them in time and space and helps them to recover or keep up their spirits. The team running it tries to resist the dehumanisation of psychiatry as best as they can.

One of the great documentary filmmakers working today, Nicolas Philibert’s approach has everything to do with getting close to his subject. Whether it is an individual such as the orangutan of Nénette (Forum, 2010), or a group of people as in La maison de la radio (Panorama, 2013), his observation over an extended period of time is motivated by a genuine and contagious interest in all that moves within a community. The question of trust is always central to a documentary filmmaker’s work and Philibert’s stance is perfect in that regard, especially for those who might have reason to mistrust their fellow humans. This gentle, enlightening film invites us to join the welcoming microcosm of the Adamant. In their company we may, as one patient suggests, decide in the morning to make sure that we will have a good day.

"Compassionate, intelligent,  and shrewdly observed … There is a gentle and very happy sense of  freedom and possibility aboard the Adamant, and there is enormous  warmth, sympathy, and human curiosity in this film." Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Director
Nicolas Philibert

Date of Release
2023

Running time
109 min

Rating
PG

Country of origin
France, Japan

Language
French (English subtitles)