Pacifiction (2022) review

De Roller (Benoît Magimel), the High Commissioner of the Republic in French Polynesia, wanders around the gorgeous island of Tahiti to discuss political matters with local leaders and residents, drinks a lot, takes in some nightlife and deals with the concerns over the fact that submarines are looming in the nearby waters ... and dispelling fears regarding nuclear testing.  Even though he has a proper leading man this time, Serra is still an experimental filmmaker at heart: this has a dreamlike quality to it with moments of incredible beauty (like the surfing scenes), and it helps to realize that he's a bibliophile and De Roller is (possibly) the equivalent of Dante's Virgil as he navigates high and low society (there's a "cockfighting" sequence!).  In its roundabout (many might say frustrating) way, it's a film about existential dread in an increasingly unstable world: sure the sunset looks pretty, but war and disease are seemingly inevitable and "paradise" may not be safe.