Pacifiction

De Roller is a calculating man, but one of impeccable manners; the typical intriguing diplomat at the service of a great power. He is a commissioner for the French Republic in paradisiacal Tahiti, a position that allows him to flow between the cracks of the island’s society. The experience has allowed him to develop the ability to go in and out, at will, of both the red circle of distinguished classes and the underworld. That capability will prove very useful when the rumor starts to spread of the sighting of a ghostly submarine, whose presence could announce the return of French nuclear tests. In Pacifiction, Catalonian director Albert Serra offers an uncomfortable portrait of the decadent banality of the French bourgeoisie, avoiding the temptation of sticking the needle of his cinematic compass once more in the ever-present Paris.