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.

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What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 17th June)

18:00

The Spirit of the Beehive PG
1h 38m | Spanish w/ English subtitles
In a small Spanish village under early Franco rule, a child’s fascination with Frankenstein blurs imagination and reality. Victor Erice’s celebrated classic is a landmark of Spanish cinema, revered for its poetic depiction of childhood and political shadowed history.

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20:30

Backrooms 15
1h 45m
When a patient vanishes through a strange basement doorway of a furniture showroom, his therapist follows him into a disorienting dimension. Expanding Kane Parsons’ cult online series, this feature-length adaptation stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve and bringing “liminal horror” to the big screen.

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Tomorrow (Thursday 18th June)

15:15

Eagles of the Republic 15
2h 8m | Arabic w/ English subtitles
Under pressure from Egyptian authorities, an actor reluctantly stars in a state-backed film, only to become entangled in a dangerous affair with a general’s wife. Award-winning filmmaker Tarik Saleh (The Nile Hilton Incident) delivers a satirical political thriller set amid corruption in Cairo.

Book here

18:00

Backrooms 15
1h 45m
When a patient vanishes through a strange basement doorway of a furniture showroom, his therapist follows him into a disorienting dimension. Expanding Kane Parsons’ cult online series, this feature-length adaptation stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve and bringing “liminal horror” to the big screen.

Book here

20:30

Song 15
£6 for Members
1h 44m
After committing murder for love, painter rescues a young Malaysian woman, and the pair begin a new life performing in vaudeville. Starring Anna May Wong in her first European film, this Weimar-era melodrama blends romance and expressive dance. Presented by Rethinking Weimar Cinema.

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 only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!