French Fim review: L’Île Rouge

At the beginning of the 1970s, in Madagascar, a few armed forces and their families live in one of the last French military bases abroad, a relic of the ending French colonial empire. Influenced by his reading of the intrepid comic book heroine Fantômette, Thomas, a ten-year-old boy, regards his surroundings with curiosity and grows to see that, beneath the carefree expatriate life, there is another, darker reality.

Visually stunning and utterly compelling, this coming-of-age drama is executed with tender discretion by director Robin Campillo and features some all-round excellent performances, not least from Charlie Vauselle as Thomas.

Director: Robin Campillo

Starring: : Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Quim Gutiérrez

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From France Today magazine