Red Island
Red Island
Red Island
Red Island
Red Island
Red Island
Red Island
Red Island
Red Island

Film Movement

Red Island

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Edition Type: Limited Edition Slipcover

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This Partner Label release is distributed through Vinegar Syndrome's sister company OCN Distribution. Vinegar Syndrome had no part in, nor are responsible for, the restoration, extras, quality control or any content(s) of this release. We hope you enjoy our growing roster of Partner Labels and the expertise and curation brought to each release by their dedicated staff!

Details

This special limited edition slipcover (designed by Brandon Schaefer) is limited to 500 units and is only available on our website and at select indie retailers. Absolutely no major retailers will be stocking them.

Founded in 2002 as one of the first-ever subscription film services with its DVD-of-the-Month Film Club, Film Movement is now a North American distributor of award-winning independent and foreign films based in New York City. In 2015, Film Movement launched the reissue label Film Movement Classics featuring new restorations released theatrically as well as on home video, with an emphasis on films by auteur directors such as Eric Rohmer, Peter Greenaway and Takeshi Kitano.

Living on one of the last remaining military bases amidst a hedonistic group of French armed forces in 1970s Madagascar, ten-year-old Thomas begins to find cracks in the surface of his family’s blissful existence on the idyllic island. Taking inspiration from his comic book hero Fantomette, Thomas spies on those around him, discovering the hidden and tangled political and sexual lives of the colonizers and the colonized. As relocation looms, Thomas questions whether the memories he has made are ones he should remember fondly.

Simultaneously a sensual evocation of discovering the adult world and a sober reflection of what it represents, Robin Campillo’s anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed 120 BPM weaves together the personal and political in a “visually spectacular [and] masterful portrayal of colonialism through a child’s eyes” (The Upcoming).

directed by: Robin Campillo
starring: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez, Charlie Vauselle, Amely Rakotoarimalala, Sophie Guillemin, Hugues Delamarlière
2023 / 117 min / 1.37:1 / English, Malagasy DTS-HD MA 5.1, 2.0

Additional info:

  • Region A Blu-ray
  • Commentary with director Robin Campillo
  • Essay by film critic Sam Cohen
  • English subtitles

Overall rating: 4.3333335 / 5 from 12 reviews.

AI Generated Review Summary

Summary topics

Review topics: ["film","performances","slipcover","drama"].

Review highlights

Reviews

Beautifully Shot

"visually impressive film with strong performances and a story that kept me engaged."

— Chris T. (5/5)

Check Madagascar Off Your Letterboxd Map

"Movie: An engaging movie, and it's nice to see one about Madagascar that's about _humans_. For most of the movie you can kind of go along with a conceit that we're primarily getting information from the point of view of the protagonist, a child who is inspired by a character from books he reads to observe people. However, eventually this becomes untenable as we end up seeing much more than what's available for him to see. There are multiple interesting threads set up by the movie, but it doesn't feel like any of them really holds everything together. In particular, although we spend most of the movie with the French living at the military base, the ending of the movie centers on two locals reacting to the culmination of anti-government protests. So is the movie about a boy growing up and realizing bad things happen in the world? Or is it about the Malagasy struggle to free themselves from the French? I think you _could_ have done both, but here it seems like most of the movie was the former and then the ending was about the latter. Extras: Nice to have the trailer, but aside from a commentary track there's nothing else. Book: An okay essay that walks through the movie and makes a few small points. Packaging: The slipcover is very striking."

— Gideon M. (3/5)

Red Island

"Visually stunning film on the French occupation of Madagascar. Amazing performances. Highly recommended"

— Hansi L. (5/5)

Some interesting moments

"I enjoyed the fantasy/comic book sequences the most in this film. The political background dealing with France's occupation of Madagascar was, and basically still is, completely unknown to me. The switch of POV and language towards the end has less impact for someone who speaks neither language. I am sure I'd have gotten more out of it had I more knowledge of the background, but the family dynamics and performances are quite good. One of the nicer slipcovers from this label made to look like an old paperback."

— Ed K. (4/5)

Solid film

"A solid drama worth your time, nice edition"

— Gary J. (4/5)

Unexpected, but very welcome Blu-ray release of a Robin Campillo film

"Robin Campillo is one of the best directors today and sadly among the least appreciated in the indie and festival circuit. Therefore, it’s great to have this Blu-ray release available courtesy of Film Movement. I appreciate that they got Campillo to do a commentary, although it might have been easier for him to record it in his native French. As the film was shot digitally, FM’s trademark poor encoding doesn’t intrude as much but there’s still banding and less densely resolved digital noise. Film Movement would be best advised to use another authoring house."

— Nicolas K. (4/5)

Great film!

"Thomas lives in a military base on colony of Madagascar, with his parents and friends. He gradually becomes aware of territorial and sexual politics while finding an outlet for his imagination in the exploits of crime-buster Fantômette."

— Sebastian V. (5/5)

Nicely done

"A great looking movie from the great director of 120 BPM. A cool coming of age movie that also doesn't shy away from the ugly face of colonialism. Good stuff."

— Andrew I. (4/5)

Red Island

"An enjoyable film."

— Gloria W. (4/5)

Wow what a treat!

"I’d heard of this in passing and it’s must see stuff."

— Charles A. (4/5)

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