MUBI Going with JT: Pacifiction

I never owned a passport until I was 29. I never had occasion to leave the country before then. Not from a lack of desire mind you, but more so intent and means (mostly means). Since earning the opportunity, I’ve tried to savor the flavor of each experience. Everywhere you go has such a depth of culture and context that you never really feel like you can truly “know” a place. Even if your experience is based on a meaningful life-changing encounter, to know the history and meaning of why anywhere is the way that it is requires and rewards additional effort. Seek to find, that sort of thing. 

His latest film Pacifiction, sees director Albert Serra dual wielding the known and unknown in rather magnificent fashion in a grand and deeply understated tale of suspense. The film’s central focus follows high commissaire De Roller (Benoît Magimel) as he deals with the minor and major political intrigues of the French-Polynesian island in his care. He simultaneously seeks to keep the peace with the local population and still make things entertaining for himself as a man of influence and notoriety across the island. However, as rumors quietly rise of forthcoming nuclear tests returning to nearby areas, a ripple of concern breaks the community’s still water. 

However, while concern registers, action is slow to develop. Most of the island, and De Roller himself, see so little point to such an idea that the rumor fails to disturb anyone from their peaceful malaise. After all, paradise is eternal and who could argue that they live anywhere but Paradise? Sure, there’s a matter of history and earned anxiety, but it couldn’t happen again…

In terms of location, I literally cannot fathom a more stunning setting than this island. From frame one, the audience is transported to a real grandaddy-of-‘em-all type sunset, the kind unique to the island’s character and one that would put every office calendar sunset you’ve ever seen into a state of utter despair. It immediately sets an astronomically high standard for the film’s cinematography, and goddamn does the remainder not disappoint. Visually speaking, if this film was an album, I’d say it was a true “zero skips” endeavor.

You find the same kind of fervor put into the lighting in the bi-sexual heaven that is the film’s central bar hangout, aptly called “Paradise Now.” The bar acts as a meeting ground for the island’s big players as they make their respective merriments. It feels a little gimmicky that the bar’s work force is staffed by half naked men and women titillating the patrons and that’s because it is. It stands to serve as a reminder of the commodification of the natural beauty of a literal paradise as it is shoved upon (and arguably wasted upon) the non-native occupants. 

To pull back a little bit, this film juggles a lot of thematic and characters driven discussions at once. Even while De Roller sleuths around the island and dispenses his brand of off-handed diplomacy, people around him pursue their passions. A group of locals plan protests at any costs under the steely leadership of Matahi (Matahi Pambrum). An optimistic and ambitious young woman Shannah (Pahoa Mahagafanau) balances her desires for success and influence with earnest affection for her native land and gender identity. A French Navy officer, known only as L’amiral (Marc Susini), boozes and smirks knowingly at the whole island as he rails against a never named enemy. Not only do these characters add to the depth and character and scope of the setting, it enhances a sense of mystery and aimlessness within narrative. Each character seems to have blinders to their own pursuits even in a swirl of nuclear testing rumors. No one knows how scared to be. It is as if the island itself is supernaturally designed to leave you so blissfully present in its beauty, that you cannot spare a thought for approaching danger beyond your nose. 

The threads of this complex tale weave a detailed tapestry that gives little to nothing away of the larger picture until the last fiber is in place. It’s hard to say whether or not that ending result is one really meant to satisfy or mystify, but for this writer I can honestly say that it did both. The movie is both broad and vague and also minutely captivating for those really willing to buy in. I don’t think I could sit here and honestly say this one’s going to be for everyone. The geopolitical thriller lovers could easily lose patience with the loose meandering plot. Plenty of other viewers could really just lose interest in watching a Frenchman talking his way in and out of every encounter over a 165 minute run-time. However, if you’re really interested in engaging with a beautifully rendered look at the impact of the lingering effects of colonialism and the ultimate impasse of diplomatic maneuvering, then you will be greatly rewarded by Pacifiction. “Seek to find!” my friends.