Pacifiction

Albert Serra’s hypnotic Palme d'Or-nominated drama about the greed and hypocrisy of colonial power in Tahiti.

French High Commissioner De Roller travels around Tahiti in his cream suit, attending various engagements where he is always mediating, always performing. In every encounter, whether with indigenous dancers, local politicians or fellow expats, his sense of colonialist entitlement - alongside an implicit tension - is ever-present.

Serra (The Death of Louis XIV) is known for his distinctive and provocative style, and here he has created another original, highly saturated cinematic experience, powered by Artur Tort’s sensuous cinematography. The contrast between the suffocating claustrophobia of De Roller’s authority and the vast, ferocious Pacific waves is overwhelming.