A modern retelling of the tragedy of Antigone, it stars Syrus Shahidi as a man who fights to bury his brother in a Sicilian village.

[3] The film was shot on location in the Metropolitan City of Palermo, where principal photography began on 30 January 2018 in the town of Balestrate.

[2] Guillemette Odicino, also of Télérama, praised the film's "unique humor" and deemed Paolini to be a "young director to follow".

[19] L'Express agreed, writing, "Dry and without an ounce of embellishment, Amare amaro reveals the talents of Julien Paolini as a filmmaker.

"[20] Xavier Leherpeur of L'Obs praised the screenplay as skilled and daring, but felt the film's mise-en-scène was "a little too rigid and austere.

"[4] Le Figaro wrote that "Bits of Greek tragedy, vaguely mafia drama and Italian comedy are not enough to make a film that holds up.

"[21] Bruno Deruisseau of Les Inrockuptibles wrote, "Despite an awkward soundtrack and an exceedingly obvious desire to "craft beautiful shots", the mise-en-scène is illustrated by an asceticism which suits the tragedy well.

"[22] Stéphanie Belpêche of Le Journal du Dimanche criticised the pacing as dragging on and the screenplay for being "not very original", but wrote that "it has the merit of revealing the ridiculousness of a situation which will inevitably end in blood.