Sean Tayler’s review published on Letterboxd:
I feel very much like the odd one out here, so many angry two star French reviews. Sure The Red Island doesn’t pack the emotional punch of BPM or the deadly heartache Eastern Boys caused me, but here Robin Campillo does succeed in creating a very lived in topology of the families living in a French military base in colonised Madagascar.
None of the characters are quite as impactful or as developed in his previous films, but I find that more a symptom of a script that is more occupied in political survey and constructed by vignetted arcs, than a flaw. There’s a sprinkle of Claire Denis in here. The narrative slowly shifts from the warm memories of a childhood on the island, to the harsh adult realities of disease and civil war caused by the French occupation.
The narrative shifts in the film sideline members of the ensemble in favour of others in a way that hasn’t worked for many, but enhanced my appreciate for the almost unsentimental reappraisal that Campillo has cast upon his own childhood.
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_573aaf8e-f7fd-46bd-a3f6-d657726ae6ad" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-573aaf8e-f7fd-46bd-a3f6-d657726ae6ad'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div -tile300x250 -alignleft -bottommargin'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'med_rect_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-573aaf8e-f7fd-46bd-a3f6-d657726ae6ad'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-573aaf8e-f7fd-46bd-a3f6-d657726ae6ad'));
' ].join(''); if ( adsScript && adsScript === 'bandsintown' && adsPlatforms && ((window.isIOS && adsPlatforms.indexOf("iOS") >= 0) || (window.isAndroid && adsPlatforms.indexOf("Android") >= 0)) && adsLocations && adsMode && ( (adsMode === 'include' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) >= 0) || (adsMode === 'exclude' && adsLocations.indexOf(window.adsLocation) == -1) ) ) { var opts = { artist: "", song: "", adunit_id: 100005950, div_id: "cf_async_aa9405a4-1252-49ab-b2f7-c112463bc8cd" }; adUnit.id = opts.div_id; if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } var c=function(){cf.showAsyncAd(opts)};if(typeof window.cf !== 'undefined')c();else{cf_async=!0;var r=document.createElement("script"),s=document.getElementsByTagName("script")[0];r.async=!0;r.src="//srv.tunefindforfans.com/fruits/apricots.js";r.readyState?r.onreadystatechange=function(){if("loaded"==r.readyState||"complete"==r.readyState)r.onreadystatechange=null,c()}:r.onload=c;s.parentNode.insertBefore(r,s)}; } else { adUnit.id = 'pw-aa9405a4-1252-49ab-b2f7-c112463bc8cd'; adUnit.className = 'pw-div'; adUnit.setAttribute('data-pw-' + (renderMobile ? 'mobi' : 'desk'), 'sky_btf'); if (target) { target.insertAdjacentElement('beforeend', adUnit); } else { tag.insertAdjacentElement('afterend', adUnit); } window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', (event) => { adUnit.insertAdjacentHTML('afterend', kicker); window.ramp.que.push(function () { window.ramp.addTag('pw-aa9405a4-1252-49ab-b2f7-c112463bc8cd'); }); }, { once: true }); } } tag.remove(); })(document.getElementById('script-aa9405a4-1252-49ab-b2f7-c112463bc8cd'));
