Red Island (film)

Red Island
Release poster
Directed byRobin Campillo
Written by
Produced byMarie-Ange Luciani
Starring
CinematographyJeanne Lapoirie
Edited by
  • Robin Campillo
  • Anita Roth
  • Stéphanie Léger
Music byArnaud Rebotini
Production
company
Les Films de Pierre
Distributed byMemento Distribution
Release date
  • 31 May 2023 (2023-05-31)
Running time
116 minutes
Countries
  • France
  • Belgium
LanguageFrench
Budget€7.2 million[1]
Box office$1.1 million[2]

Red Island (French: L'Île rouge) is a 2023 coming-of-age drama film directed by Robin Campillo. Written by Campillo and Gilles Marchand, it stars Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez, and Charlie Vauselle. Set in the early 1970s Madagascar, where Campillo spent his childhood,[3] it follows a ten-year-old boy and his family stationed in a French military base.[4]

Cast

  • Nadia Tereszkiewicz as Colette Lopez
  • Quim Gutiérrez as Robert Lopez
  • Charlie Vauselle as Thomas
  • Amely Rakotoarimalala as Miangaly
  • Hugues Delamarlière as Bernard Huissens
  • Sophie Guillemin as Mrs. Guedj
  • David Serero as Mr. Guedj
  • Luna Carpiaux as Odile Huissens
  • Mitia Ralaivita as Andry
  • Cathy Pham as Suzanne
  • Mathis Piberne as Alain
  • Sacha Cosar-Accaoui as Michel
  • Calissa Oskal-Ool as Fantômette

Production

Filming took place from August to November 2021.[4] Working titles included École de l'air and Vazaha (Les Blancs).[5][6]

Release

Red Island was released in French cinemas on 31 May 2023. It was submitted to the 2023 edition of the Cannes Film Festival, where Campillo's previous film, BPM (Beats per Minute), premiered and received the Grand Prix in 2017, but it was not selected.[7] It screened in competition at the 71st San Sebastián International Film Festival in September 2023.[8]

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 86% of 28 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.2/10.[9] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]

Reviewing the film for The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw gave it five stars out of five and described it as "a compelling, visually exquisite piece of work."[11]

References

  1. ^ "Red Island". Playtime. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  2. ^ "Red Island (2023)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 19 August 2024.Edit this at Wikidata
  3. ^ Lewis, Tim (7 April 2018). "Robin Campillo: 'I spent the 80s thinking I was going to die. Being a director seemed pointless'". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  4. ^ a b Lemercier, Fabien (21 September 2021). "Robin Campillo shooting Red Island". Cineuropa. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  5. ^ Lavallée, Eric (14 January 2022). "Top 100 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2022: #24. Robin Campillo's Vazaha (fka Les Blancs)". IONCINEMA. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  6. ^ Lavallée, Eric (19 January 2023). "Top 200 Most Anticipated Foreign Films of 2023: #15. Robin Campillo's Red Island". IONCINEMA. Retrieved 28 April 2023.
  7. ^ Leblanc, Damien (15 May 2023). "Robin Campillo : « J'ai fait ce film pour balayer ma nostalgie, pour la brûler »". Trois Couleurs (in French). Retrieved 16 May 2023.
  8. ^ Hopewell, John (7 July 2023). "San Sebastian Main Competition: Cristi Puiu, Noah Pritzker, Joachim Lafosse, Robin Campillo Make the Cut". Variety. Retrieved 7 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Red Island". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 4 September 2024. Edit this at Wikidata
  10. ^ "Red Island". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Red Island review – beauty and colonialism in a French childhood in Madagascar". The Guardian. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 29 September 2023.