• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home Film Festival Coverage

Cannes 2022 Review: Pacifiction

★★☆☆☆ Spanish director Albert Serra’s so-called “anti-thriller” takes place in French Polynesia. In it, the island’s High Commissioner, De Roller (Benoit Magimel), begins to hear rumours about France resuming nuclear testing in the area. He does see signs of movement too; engineers showing up, the navy, but isn’t sure if he’s misinterpreting their presence. The […]

Martyn Conterio by Martyn Conterio
2022-05-26 19:23
in Festival Coverage, Film, Film Reviews, New Movies
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

★★☆☆☆

Spanish director Albert Serra’s so-called “anti-thriller” takes place in French Polynesia. In it, the island’s High Commissioner, De Roller (Benoit Magimel), begins to hear rumours about France resuming nuclear testing in the area. He does see signs of movement too; engineers showing up, the navy, but isn’t sure if he’s misinterpreting their presence. The native islanders get antsy and pester De Roller for information. It’s a headache De Roller doesn’t need and he’s sensitive to French Polynesia being a colonial outpost in the 21st century. De Roller wants to keep the native islanders on side.

This slow as molasses movie set in heaven on earth is a big ask. Nothing happens. For 2 hours and 45 minutes. It has no sense of urgency, no sense of storytelling. So it meanders and ambles along like a drunk staggering home after hours, content to be an arthouse chore, content to offer as little as possible, unconcerned if you stay in your seat or whether you run for the exit. There’s a certain admirable quality to film-making that doesn’t care about pleasing the audience, but at the same time, who is this then for? No, señor, there must be something to connect to, to feel, to think about. Otherwise it’s masturbation.

What little characterisation there is centres on De Roller being a man pretty much used to sitting on his backside. When people start making demands of his time, he grows a bit annoyed, his easy-going manner changes to impressing upon various folk his status and rank. But he does commence a cursory investigation into whether or not his homeland is actually restarting controversial nuclear testing.

One of the film’s saving graces, bar Magimel, who is committed to the role and has a certain louche charm, permanently dressed in flowery shirt, linen suit and sunglasses, looking more like a lounge singer than a politician, is the cinematography by Artur Tort. Pacifiction (2022) is duller than brackish water, for sure, but at least it doesn’t trade in romanticised images of Tahiti. Scenes are washed in jaw-dropping peach light, the effect potent and dreamy as hell, in aesthetic terms, and all natural. What a shame then Serra appears not to be at all interested in telling a story with any sense of craft or skill, Pacifiction instead makes sail for nowhere but its own self-regard. This might have been something worthwhile, if directed by a master such as Claude Chabrol, back in the day.

Image credit: Anderground Films. All rights reserved.

RelatedPosts

Final Thoughts on Cannes 2022

Cannes 2022 Review: Tori and Lokita

Cannes 2022 Review: Elvis

Cannes 2022 Review: Godland

Tags: Albert SerraBenoit MagimelPacifiction

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Queen’s relative freed is halfway through prison sentence for sex assault

5 Interesting Jobs You May Never Have Thought Of…

Best reactions as Right Said Fred got their Covid maths wrong

Patel bullying case dropped after settlement but how much did it cost taxpayer?

Hackers tap into Russian streaming services to broadcast footage of war

5PM deadline to join Labour to vote for new leader as polls show candidates very close

Peckham Teenager wins as she becomes first jockey to race in a hijab in Britain

Conservative minister’s husband claims coronavirus is a ‘mental illness’

Film Review: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs

AOC finally finds herself an Irn-Bru after COP call for help

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.