Pacifiction

"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."

The 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]

On 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

The 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:

• 1st — Cineuropa (David González)^[16]
• 1st — Cineuropa (David Katz)^[16]
• 1st — Cineuropa (Alfonso Rivera)^[16]
• 2nd — Cineuropa (Martin Kudlac)^[16]
• 2nd — Cineuropa (Fabien Lemercier)^[16]
• 3rd — Cineuropa (Júlia Olmo)^[16]
• 3rd — Cineuropa (Cristóbal Soage)^[16]
• 9th — Cineuropa (Vladan Petkovic)^[16]

• List of French films of 2022
• List of Spanish films of 2022