In Waves
Detailed parental analysis
In Waves is a contemplative and profoundly melancholic animated film, adapted from an autobiographical graphic novel recounting the true story of a young man who accompanies his partner, suffering from a serious illness, until her death. The narrative interweaves teenage love, shared passion for surfing and skateboarding, and the journey through grief, making the ocean a sustained metaphor for loss and acceptance. The film is primarily addressed to a teenage and adult audience sensitive to auteur animation.
Underlying Values
The film places at the centre of its argument two ideas rarely articulated so well in a mainstream animated film: death can occur young and without justice, and what resists it is not denial but presence to others and shared passions. Surfing and skateboarding are not mere backdrop; they embody a philosophy of movement, of the instant and of fragility that gives grief an almost physical dimension. The solidarity of the group of friends is shown not as a miraculous answer but as an imperfect and necessary resource. These are robust values, without naivety or moralisation, which the film conveys through emotion rather than discourse.
Social Themes
Drawing on the real-life story of the author, the film touches on the question of serious illness in young adults, a subject rarely treated with this intimacy in animation. The history of international surfing, integrated as a parallel narrative thread, quietly opens onto a cultural transmission and a meditation on what generations pass on to their successors in the face of the ephemeral. It is not a film with a social message in the political sense, but it anchors its emotions in a documented reality that lends it a singular weight.
Parental and Family Portrayals
Parental figures seem present on the periphery of the narrative without constituting a central dramatic pole. The film concentrates its gaze on the generation of the young protagonists and on their emotional autonomy when facing hardship, which in itself constitutes an implicit message: adolescents traverse certain suffering in their own space, amongst peers, and this is not presented as a failure of adults but as a reality of self-construction.
Strengths
In Waves is an auteur animated work whose strength lies in its capacity to treat grief without dramatising it artificially or softening it into cheap sentimentalism. The faithful adaptation of an autobiographical narrative lends it a rare sincerity: each narrative choice seems motivated by lived experience rather than by genre logic. The use of surfing as a metaphorical structure is coherent, not decorative, and gives the film a remarkable tonal unity. For a teenager, it is one of the rare animated films that treats the death of a loved one in a mature way without descending into spectacular trauma or heavy-handed lesson.
Age recommendation and discussion points
The film is suitable from around 13 years old, with full resonance expected from around 15 or 16 years of age, the age at which questions of love, loss and identity take on concrete urgency. Two angles of discussion are particularly worthwhile after viewing: how one continues to live and to love something when one has lost someone, and what it means to share a passion with someone you love, as a way of keeping a trace of their presence.
Synopsis
AJ, a shy teenager, meets Kristen while in high school in Los Angeles. Kristen is passionate about surfing… and she’s the most beautiful person he’s ever met. He falls madly in love with her. As life seems to finally come together for AJ, Kristen’s life starts falling apart, shattered by illness. Together, they will fight adversity with dignity and enjoy their now-shared passion for surfing and for the ocean, but also their loyal band of friends… even when they know Kristen is doomed. This is what happens when love and friendship become a wave stronger than anything.
About this title
- Format
- Feature film
- Year
- 2026
- Runtime
- 1h 30m
- Countries
- France, Belgium, United States of America
- Original language
- FR
- Directed by
- Phuong Mai Nguyen
- Main cast
- Rio Vega, Lyna Khoudri, Paul Kircher, Birane Ba, Gauthier Battoue
- Studios
- Silex Films, Panique!, Charades, France 3 Cinéma, Anonymous Content, Gao Shan Pictures
Content barometer
- Violence0/5None
- Fear2/5A few scenes
- Sexuality0/5None
- Language0/5None
- Narrative complexity2/5Moderate
- Adult themes0/5None
Values conveyed
- Friendship
- Perseverance
- Compassion
- Loyalty
- Autonomy
- courage
- resilience
- love