A group of French high school students travel to Pompeii on a class trip to discover its ruins and the bodies petrified by Vesuvius in 79 CE. In this ghost town, they are suddenly overcome by an intense sensation and drawn into a dizzying descent. One by one, James, Toni, Suzanne, and their Latin teacher, Mme Mercier, are swept up in desire and anger—until they surrender to them completely. Marine Atlan’s feature directorial debut LA GRADIVA is an affecting and evocative coming-of-age travel drama, where the force of youth meets a world frozen in time.