- Tahiti
PACIFICTION
Synopsis
On Tahiti, in the French overseas territory of Polynesia, De Roller (Benoît Magimel) is the High Commissioner of the Republic: a calculating man with impeccable manners who moves between government receptions, nightclubs and beach bars, talking to everyone and telling no one anything. A rumour is going round: a submarine has supposedly been sighted, which could mean that France is resuming its nuclear tests in the Pacific. De Roller listens, deflects, probes – with activists, politicians, an admiral (Marc Susini), with Shannah (Pahoa Mahagafanau), with club owner Morton (Sergi López). “Pacifiction” by Albert Serra (France, 2022, shot on Tahiti) is a political thriller in which suspicion never condenses into action and the threat dissolves into the light of the tropics.
Catalan director Albert Serra shot for 165 minutes on Tahiti, in a film that is narratively sparse and visually overflowing: twilights, waves, faces, a pace that slows hypnotically while paranoia grows beneath the surface. French, English, Tahitian and Portuguese mix together. It premiered in the Cannes 2022 competition; the Prix Louis Delluc followed, along with Césars for Benoît Magimel as best actor and for Artur Tort’s cinematography. “Pacifiction” was shown at Around the World in 14 Films in Berlin in 2022.
Festival
Shown at the 2022 edition of Around the World in 14 Films.
