It’s not a good look that Robin Campillo’s “Red Island” has been given a French release date of May 31st. Have they just given up on showing it at festivals?
It wasn’t selected for Cannes and it seems as though Venice passed on it as well. What happened? I guess they could have tried Locarno, San Sebastien or even TIFF …
Just a few months ago, if you were compiling a list of all the potential titles for Cannes 2023, Campillo’s film would have been high up on the list. His last one, 2017’s “BPM,” won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes and was one of the most acclaimed films from that year.
I’m told “Red Island” was rejected fairly early on in this year’s Cannes selection process. Whereas, you still had French films like Bruno Dumont’s “L’Empire” and Betrand Bonello’s “The Beast” in contention until the very last second. But not Campillo.
“Red Island” is a very personal film for Campillo. set in the 70s, in Madagascar, where some armed forces and their families live in one of the last French military bases abroad, a relic of the ending French colonial empire — it’s the story of a young boy coming of age in a peculiar setting.
Campillo has directed a total of three films so far in his career, not counting this latest one: “Les Revenants,” “Eastern Boys” and “Red Island.” I’m not a big fan of these works, but he most definitely has following.
As it stands, “Red Island” will be released domestically, in France, in a little more than a month.