“Serra is an incredible filmmaker and this is his most wildly expressive film yet” – The Film Stage

“The bold colors, the sunsets, and the giant waves of Tahiti looked phenomenal on the big screen; on a level of aesthetics, it’s hard to watch ‘Pacifiction’ and not want to shout ‘cinema!’ – RogerEbert.com

The Best Film of 2022 for Cahiers du Cinéma, a dreamy tropical visually-stunning cinematic journey deserved to be experienced in a cinema theatre.

Catalan filmmaker Albert Serra reconfirms his centrality in the contemporary cinematic landscape with this mesmerising portrait of a French bureaucrat (a monumental Benoît Magimel) who embodies the greed, hypocrisy and paranoia of colonial power.

Shooting in widescreen, Pacifiction conveys the lushness and languor of sunsets in French Polynesia. From the menace of a darkened nightclub to the of the vastness of the Pacific waters, he conjures a milieu that is equally intoxicating and mysterious, including what arguably is one of the most incredible scenes of modern cinema capturing a group of boats, jet skies and surfers  out at sea taking on staggeringly 20 meters high waves.

Arguably Albert Serra’s most narratively-driven film to date, it unfolds as an elliptical political thriller a-la James Bond, with visually stunning exotic colours and themes that seem out of Gaugain paintings, resulting a fascinating Apocalypse Now-like journey to the heart of darkness

SCREENINGS:

EDINBURGH
Where: Summerhall (1, Summerhall, Newington, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL)
When: Saturday 28th January, 18:30 (doors open 18:00)

GLASGOW
Where: GFT (12 Rose St, Glasgow, G3 6RB)
When: Sunday 5th February, 15:45

FILM INFORMATION
Int. title: Pacifiction
Director: Albert Serra
With: Benoît Magimel, Pahoa Mahagafanau, Lluis Serrat, Sergi López, Alexandre Melo
Country: Spain, France, Portugal, Germany
Year: 2022
Length: 120 min
Language: French
Subtitles: English
Age: 15
CW: Strong sex scenes, nudity, use of drugs

SYNOPSIS:

On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic and French government official De Roller is a calculating man with flawless manners. His somewhat broad perception of his role brings him to navigate the high end “establishment” as well as shady venues where he mingles with the locals. Especially since a persistent rumor has been going around: the sighting of a submarine whose ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing.

Serra’s gripping, atmospheric thriller is a slow-building fever dream that lulls before catching us by surprise with the depths of its darkness, a film that allows its incisive social commentary about the remnants of colonialism to surface through quiet observation and aesthetic audacity.

FESTIVALS:

Festival de Cannes – Official Competition (World Premiere)

New York Film Festival

TIFF Wavelengths – Toronto Int Film Festival

BFI London Film Festival

Viennale

SCREENINGS:

EDINBURGH
Where: Summerhall (1, Summerhall, Newington, Edinburgh, EH9 1PL)
When: Saturday 28th January, 18:30 (doors open 18:00)

GLASGOW
Where: GFT (12 Rose St, Glasgow, G3 6RB)
When: Sunday 5th February, 15:45

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