150 Word Review: 'Pacifiction' (2022)
Love island
The nights are endless in Pacifiction, a movie described as a “political thriller” that is, in fact, a sweaty, paranoid, slow-moving delirium about colonialism.
Benoît Magimel stars as De Roller, a high-ranking French bureaucrat in an immaculate white suit who boozes and shmoozes his days away on the beautiful, mysterious tropical island of Tahiti. Magimel’s De Roller is a well-mannered and debauched imperialist who wears his considerable authority like a colorful lei around his neck. But his idles are interrupted by a rumor sweeping the far-flung territory: the French may resume nuclear testing, which they last did in 1996. These rumors are sparked by a mysterious submarine that may or may not be lurking off the coast.
Pahoa Mahagafanau tactically aloof as a native pursued by De Roller. Director Albert Serra’s occupied paradise is beautiful—greens, blues, shadows, and sun. Tahiti is an ancient land eager to shake off the invaders.