Pacifiction15

Directed by Albert Serra | France | 2022 | 2h 45m | French & Polynesian w/ English subtitles | Starring Benoît Magimel, Pahoa Mahagafanau, Marc Susini, Sergi López, Montse Triola

On the French Polynesian island of Tahiti, the High Commissioner of the Republic is a calculating man with flawless manners. With rumours of the return of nuclear testing to the island, he plots and schemes to assert his position of dominance within the establishment and with the locals. Albert Serra’s most ambitious film yet unfurls with novelistic verve, a grand and mesmerizing epic exploring greed, hypocrisy, and paranoia of colonial power.

Reviews

‘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.’
★★★★★
Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire

‘I can only say I was captivated by the film and its stealthy evocation of pure evil.’
★★★★
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Pacifiction between May 20, 2023 and May 21, 2023.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Friday 24th January)

20:45

Better Man 15
2h 15m
Pop icon Robbie Williams has experienced a fame-filled roller coaster like no other. Inventive and unexpectedly poignant retelling of his life exploring the highs and lows of stardom – with Robbie portrayed, intriguingly, as a chimpanzee.

Book here


Tomorrow (Saturday 25th January)

14:00

Nickel Boys 12A
2h 20m
In 1960s America, two young Black men form a friendship while in a corrupt reform school. Director RaMell Ross adapts Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel as an immersive exploration of America’s buried history.

Book here

17:00

We Live in Time 15
1h 47m
Almut and Tobias meet in an unexpected encounter that forever alters their lives. But a challenging truth emerges that threatens to upend everything they’ve built. Uniquely structured rom-com starring Oscar nominees Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield.

Book here

19:30

Byrne's Night Double Feature PG
1h 29m + 1h 28m
It's Byrne’s Night! Join us for a celebration of musician and artist David Byrne with a screening of his directorial debut True Stories back-to-back with Jonathan Demme’s iconic Talking Heads concert-doc Stop Making Sense.

Book here

19:30

True Stories PG
1h 29m
Directed and hosted by a cowboy-hatted David Byrne, the frontman of Talking Heads, True Stories draws inspiration from tabloid headlines to create a postmodern tribute to the extraordinary nature of everyday American life.

Book here

21:15

Stop Making Sense PG
1h 28m
Big songs. Even bigger suit. Filmmaker Jonathan Demme captures the intoxicating experience of New York art-rockers Talking Heads performing live at the peak of their powers in 1983.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!