Pacifiction (French: Pacifiction – Tourment sur les îles) is a 2022 thriller drama film written and directed by Albert Serra, and starring Benoît Magimel. The film premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, where it competed for the Palme d'Or.[3] The film title is a portmanteau of the words Pacific and fiction.[4]
| Pacifiction | |
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| French | Pacifiction – Tourment sur les îles |
| Directed by | Albert Serra |
| Written by | Albert Serra |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | Benoît Magimel |
| Cinematography | Artur Tort |
| Edited by |
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| Music by |
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Production companies |
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| Distributed by |
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Release dates |
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Running time | 165 minutes[1] |
| Countries |
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| Box office | $298,934[2] |
Plot
edit"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. A persistent rumour also has been going around: The sighting of a submarine with a ghostly presence could herald the return of French nuclear testing."
Cast
edit- Benoît Magimel as High Commissioner De Roller
- Pahoa Mahagafanau as Shannah
- Marc Susini as l'amiral
- Matahi Pambrun as Matahi
- Alexandre Mello as le Portugais
- Sergi López as Morton
- Montse Triola as Francesca
- Michael Vautor as le capitaine
- Cécile Guilbert as Romane Attia
- Lluís Serrat as Lois
- Mike Landscape as M. Mike
- Cyrus Arai as Cyrus
- Mareva Wong as la secrétaire
- Baptiste Pinteaux as Olivier
Release
editThe film screened at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on 26 May 2022.[5] Distributed by Elastica, it was released theatrically in Spain on 2 September 2022.[6] It was released by Les Films du Losange in France on 9 November 2022.[7]
Reception
editOn Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 87% based on 70 reviews, with an average rating of 7.7/10. The website's consensus reads, "Narratively sparse and visually vast, Pacifiction is a tsunami of a political thriller that philosophically rewards those willing to weather it."[8] According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on 18 critics, the film received "generally favorable reviews".[9]
Reviewing the film following its Cannes premiere, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian wrote that he was "captivated by the film and its stealthy evocation of pure evil."[10] Christian Blauvelt of IndieWire wrote, "Pacifiction is not a vicarious experience of luxury; it is an experience of life. Set to its own tidal rhythm, it is one of the most beautiful and rigorously introspective movies of this or any year."[11] The Hollywood Reporter's Leslie Felperin called it "Punishingly slow, though not uninteresting."[12] Guy Lodge of Variety wrote, "Provided they stick with the film's luxuriantly gradual pacing... there are rewards here even for more bemused viewers caught in its tide."[13] Nando Salvá of Cinemanía rated the film 4½ out of 5 stars, underscoring the film to be "Romantic. Seductive. Hypnotic. Overwhelming" as a verdict.[6]
Top ten lists
editThe film appeared on some critics' top-ten lists of the best films of 2022:
- 1st — Cahiers du Cinéma (staff consensus)[14][15]
- 1st — ScreenDaily (Jonathan Romney)[15]
- 5th — Artforum (James Quandt)[15]
It also appeared on a number of critics' top-ten lists of the best European films of 2022:
Accolades
edit| Year | Award | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Louis Delluc Prize | Best Film of the Year | Won | [17] | |
| 2023 | 28th Lumières Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [18] | |
| Best Director | Albert Serra | Won | |||
| Best Actor | Benoît Magimel | Won | |||
| Best Cinematography | Artur Tort | Won | |||
| Best Music | Marc Verdaguer | Nominated | |||
| 15th Gaudí Awards | Best Non-Catalan Language Film | Won | [19] | ||
| Best Director | Albert Serra | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Benoît Magimel | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Screenplay | Albert Serra | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Artur Tort | Won | |||
| Best Editing | Albert Serra, Artur Tort, Ariadna Ribas | Nominated | |||
| Best Production Supervision | Clàudia Robert | Nominated | |||
| Best Art Direction | Sebastian Vogler | Won | |||
| Best Costume Design | Práxedes de Villalonga | Nominated | |||
| Best Makeup and Hairstyles | Aurélie Vigouroux, Maryline Montibert | Nominated | |||
| Best Original Score | Marc Verdaguer, Joe Robinson | Nominated | |||
| 10th Feroz Awards | Arrebato Award (Fiction) | Nominated | [20] | ||
| 48th César Awards | Best Film | Nominated | [21] | ||
| Best Director | Albert Serra | Nominated | |||
| Best Actor | Benoît Magimel | Won | |||
| Best Cinematography | Artur Tort | Won | |||
| Best Original Music | Marc Verdaguer, Joe Robinson | Nominated | |||
| Best Costume Design | Praxedes de Vilallonga | Nominated | |||
| Best Production Design | Sebastian Vogler | Nominated | |||
| Best Sound | Jordi Ribas, Benjamin Laurent, Bruno Tarriere | Nominated | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Marco del Bianco | Nominated | |||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Pacifiction". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved 17 April 2023.
- ^ "Pacifiction (2022)". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 27 December 2022.
- ^ "Pacifiction". Festival de Cannes. Festival de Cannes. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Wham, James (15 July 2022). "Pacific Fictions". New Left Review. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
- ^ Tsanis, Magdalena (26 May 2022). "Albert Serra desconcierta en Cannes con la bizarra y magnética "Pacifiction". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 November 2022.
- ^ a b Salvá, Nando (31 August 2022). "Crítica de 'Pacifiction'". Cinemanía. Retrieved 13 November 2022 – via 20minutos.es.
- ^ Belsoeur, Camille. "Pacifiction - Tourment sur les îles : Benoît Magimel surnage dans un thriller d'espionnage en eaux trop calmes". www.francetvinfo.fr (in French). Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ "Pacifiction". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ "Pacifiction Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
- ^ Bradshaw, Peter (26 May 2022). "Pacifiction review – trouble in paradise, in apocalyptic Tahitian mystery". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Blauvelt, Christian (12 October 2022). "'Pacifiction' Review: Here's the Art Film of the Year". IndieWire. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Felperin, Leslie (27 May 2022). "'Pacifiction': Film Review | Cannes 2022". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (27 May 2022). "'Pacifiction' Review: Albert Serra's Torpid Tahitian Getaway is Cryptic But Curiously Hypnotic". Variety. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
- ^ Zilko, Christian (1 December 2022). "'Pacifiction' Tops Cahiers du Cinema's Best Films of 2022 List". IndieWire.
- ^ a b c Dietz, Jason (6 December 2022). "Critics pick the best movies of 2022". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Cineuropa's Best of 2022". Cineuropa. 21 December 2022.
- ^ "Le Prix Delluc récompense ex aequo les films "Saint Omer" d'Alice Diop et "Pacifiction" d'Albert Serra". rtbf.be. 30 November 2022.
- ^ "Lumières 2023 : "La Nuit du 12", "Pacifiction", "Saint Omer" et "Les Enfants des autres" en tête des nominations". France Info. 15 December 2022.
- ^ "'Alcarràs' y 'Un año, una noche', favoritas en los Premios Gaudí: lista de nominaciones". Cinemanía. 14 December 2022 – via 20minutos.es.
- ^ "Premios Feroz 2023 | Palmarés completo: empatan 'As bestas' y 'Cinco lobitos' en cine y 'La ruta' y 'No me gusta conducir' en series". Cinemanía. 29 January 2023 – via 20minutos.es.
- ^ Roxborough, Scott; Vlessing, Etan (24 February 2023). "César Awards: 'The Night of the 12th' Named Best Picture". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 26 February 2023.
External links
edit- Pacifiction at IMDb