This is a costume drama of solid but very routine production values. The theme is anti-colonialism. The French colonial authorities are shown as corrupt and oppressive and the colonist family at the centre of the narrative is economically hopeless and morally degenerate. Isabelle Huppert is a slightly crazy and clueless head of a family whose only assets reside in the sexual allure of its teenage son and daughter. These assets are exploited in an attempt to save the family's fortunes. They are an unlikeable bunch although some nuance is generated by Huppert who injects a little humanity into her character. The film feels slow-paced and over long and do we really need another anti-colonial tract?
Review of Un barrage contre le Pacifique
