Red Island

2023 1h 57m FR

😐

5.4

MID

★5.4TMDB · 56

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Madagascar, at the turn of the 1960s and 1970s. On an air base of the French army, the soldiers live the last carefree years of colonialism. Influenced by his readings of Fantômette, Thomas, a child who is not yet 10 years old, gradually forges a look at the world around him.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Charlie Vauselle
Thomas
Quim Gutiérrez
Robert Lopez
Nadia Tereszkiewicz
Colette Lopez
Sophie Guillemin
Mme Guedj
Hugues Delamarliere
Bernard Huissens
David Serero
M. Guedj
Luna Carpiaux
Odile Huissens
Mathis Piberne
Alain

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Robin Campillo
Writers: Robin Campillo, Gilles Marchand
Languages: French, Malagasy
Countries: France, Madagascar, Belgium

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 17% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, Malagasy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: France, Madagascar, Belgium.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Robin Campillo, shot by Jeanne Lapoirie. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Robin Campillo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Charlie Vauselle and Quim Gutiérrez and Nadia Tereszkiewicz carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt13846540 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Robin Campillo directs. Jeanne Lapoirie behind the camera. Robin Campillo cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in France, Madagascar, Belgium. Dialogue in French, Malagasy.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 17% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 3 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, Malagasy.
4International production across 3 countries: France, Madagascar, Belgium.
5Directed by Robin Campillo, shot by Jeanne Lapoirie. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Editor Robin Campillo shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Charlie Vauselle and Quim Gutiérrez and Nadia Tereszkiewicz carry the top of the cast.
8IMDB entry: tt13846540 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 56 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Jeanne Lapoirie
Editing: Robin Campillo
Makeup / hair: Daphné Hesnard
VFX supervisor: Lisa Fischer
Sound: Thomas Gauder
Runtime: 117 min · 1h 57m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $6,570,000
Box office: $1,101,136
Return: 17% of budget
Original language: FR
IMDB: Red Island (2023)

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Robin Campillo

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2024-04-03
★ 6/10
Set against a backdrop, in the early 1970s, of increasing local dissatisfaction with both their government and it's dependent relationship with former colonial power France, this drama follows the lives of the last few occupants of a French airbase in Madagascar as their deployment comes to an end. Most of the observations emanate from the young "Thomas" (Charlie Vauselle) as he watches his parents "Colette" (Nadia Tereszkiewicz) and "Robert(o)" (Quim Gutiérrez) come to terms with not just their impending relocation, but with changes to their own not always perfect relationship. His young eyes also serve as conduits to other characterisations amongst their ex-pat community. "Bernard" (Hugues Delemarlière) has his young pregnant wife "Odile" (Luna Carpiaux) with him but she hates the place and returns to France leaving him free to fall in love with a local hooker "Miangaly" (Amely Rakotsarimakala), one of many who are increasingly coming to resent the last vestiges of their former masters. The film has a certain tension to it, but I felt none of the characters really very well developed. The relationship between the young boy and his friend "Suzanne" (Cathy Pham) - cemented over their love of the crime busting and quite amusingly basic "Fantômette", being the only one that really offered us anything with much depth. As to the "Red Island" - well we know where we are, but the photography doesn't really make much of the location so we could just as easily be in any sunny seaside location. The last five minutes give us more of an indication of evolving political developments but I found, for the most part, this to be a pretty unimaginative trawl through the peccadilloes of some people about whom I didn't really care. The young Vauselle turns in quite an engaging effort but otherwise I wasn't especially impressed.
Brent Marchant2024-09-12
★ 3/10
Movies about little-known, faraway locations can be a great way to learn about exotic destinations and cultures. And those set in a historical context can offer excellent opportunities for insights into the legacies of these locales. Such was my hope for this offering from writer-director Robin Campillo about the waning days of the French presence on the island of Madagascar. Set in the early 1970s, approximately a decade after the nation gained independence from its former colonial occupier, the film follows the lives of several French military officers and their families, particularly their relationships with each other and with locals, at the time when France was withdrawing from the country. On the surface, this might sound like an intriguing premise for a film, but, instead, it’s a mess of diverse, largely unconnected story threads that are never fully fleshed out. Over the course of this release, the disjointed narrative changes focus multiple times, telling pieces of stories from the ever-shifting perspectives of an array of characters involved in a wide range of underdeveloped scenarios, many of which are introduced and subsequently allowed to fizzle without meaningful or satisfying resolution. Much of the picture explores childhood and coming of age matters from the standpoint of Thomas (Charlie Vauselle), a shy eight-year-old seeking to find his way and understand life in this enigmatic setting. But Thomas’s experience is intertwined with themes related to domestic discord, marital infidelity, interracial relationships, concealed secrets, questionable ambitions, political reform movements and the fading remnants of European imperialism. There are also a number of segments exploring Thomas’s vivid fantasy life, particularly his fascination with Fantômette, the subject of a French book series for young readers featuring a crime-fighting female superhero. In presenting all of this material, the film incorporates familiar elements reminiscent of a plethora of pictures, including everything from “The Year of Living Dangerously” (1982) to “The Ice Storm” (1997), among others. In the end, though, none of this hangs together especially well, frequently leaving viewers perplexed about what’s coming next or why some of this material was even included in the first place. It essentially feels like a movie put together by a committee, ultimately providing considerably more frustration than satisfaction. For what it’s worth, “Red Island,” sadly, is a real disappointment and a woefully missed opportunity to offer audiences something truly fresh, new and different, something the movie industry could really use more of these days.