In Red Island (2023), a young boy’s seemingly carefree childhood in 1970s Madagascar unravels into a deeper exploration of colonialism, power, and lost innocence. 

Living on one of the last remaining military bases amid a hedonistic group of French armed forces, 10-year-old Thomas begins to notice cracks in the surface of his family’s blissful existence on the idyllic island. Inspired by his comic book hero Fantomette, Thomas takes to spying on those around him and uncovers the tangled political and sexual lives of both the colonizers and the colonized. As the family prepares for relocation, Thomas begins to question whether the memories he’s made on the island are as blissful as they once seemed.   

Robin Campillo (120 BPM) mines the memories of his own upbringing in post-colonial Madagascar to create a spellbinding, autobiographically inspired drama. Through the innocent eyes of a child, the island is portrayed as a paradise, but as adolescence nears, Thomas starts to view his parents and their friends with new clarity. Childhood innocence gives way to a more shadowy understanding of the hypocrisy and racism that defined France’s military presence on the island. Campillo masterfully blends forms and textures, creating a visually stunning film that reflects on memory, identity, and the harsh truths of colonialism.