Pacifiction CFF

France, Spain, Germany, Portugal, 2022, 162 mins.

DIRECTOR: Albert Serra

WITH: Benoît Magimel, Sergi López, Cécile Guilbert, Pahoa Mahagafanau

On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, The High Commissioner of the Republic is an astute diplomat with perfect manners and oratory. A rumour suggests that French nuclear tests are resuming on the island and this threatens social stability. Catalan maverick filmmaker Albert Serra has directed what is considered to be his most accessible film to date. However, under what appears to be a political thriller (or anti-thriller as Serra prefers to call it) lies a hypnotic dissection of European political decadence and the dreadful legacy of colonialism. The eroticism of both political power and sex lure humans into their realms, which at times become difficult to distinguish in this subversive and captivating cinematic proposal.

The Cambridge Film Festival is presented by the Cambridge Film Trust, a registered charity with a mission to foster film culture and education for the benefit of the public, in Cambridge and the Eastern region but also throughout the UK.