Dustin Kiyeon Chang<p>Lush in its widescreen presentation, Albert Serra's Pacifiction is perhaps the most cinematically ambitious film I've experienced in a long time. Pacifiction is not dissimilar to Claire Denis's White Material or her most recent Stars at Noon, when it comes the hubris of White colonialism in its misguided superiority complex, and manifest destiny. But Serra's narrative scarcity makes Denis's films feel like reading a dense instruction manual for a washing machine by comparison. But what's offered in Pacifiction is its grand scope and risk-taking in cinematic filmmaking, much like braving the unrelenting massive waves in the film. The cold war is never over in the minds of white colonizers. It's a dated stupid game they play, even in paradise. Yet as the world is hurtling towards the global climate catastrophe and a possible nuclear war, Pacifiction doesn't seem too far-fetched or too fictional. I loved every minute of it. <a href="https://universeodon.com/tags/pacifiction" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>pacifiction</span></a> <a href="https://universeodon.com/tags/albertserra" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>albertserra</span></a> <a href="https://universeodon.com/tags/polynesia" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>polynesia</span></a> <a href="https://universeodon.com/tags/catalan" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>catalan</span></a></p>