Pacifiction: Albert Serra’s borderline experimental film follows the high commissioner of French Polynesia, as he deals with the spreading rumours that a nuclear test is to be conducted in the islands in the near future. As visually hypnotic as empty, this study in paranoia is mostly a juxtaposition of colourful images with a moody, quietly off-putting, and spare electronic musical score (by composers Joe Robinson and Marc Verdaguer), but the tension in the story and the film’s subtext are simply too superficial to justify its slow pace and long runtime. Cinematographer Artur Tort’s images are colourful, leaning a bit on the exotic gaze, but they are undeniably attractive. Benoît Magimel plays well the oily well-connected politician, increasingly paranoid. The other performances are generally too loose to register, but Pahoa Mahagafanau has a nice presence as one of the protagonist’s friends.