Films that showcase obscure places and cultures can be very rewarding, and those set in the past have the potential to reveal important aspects about a region’s history. That was what I was hoping for with this film from writer-director Robin Campillo, which deals with the decline of French influence on Madagascar. Taking place around 1970, roughly ten years after the country became independent from France, it centers on several French military officers and their families—specifically, how they interact with one another and with the local population as France prepares to leave. The idea itself sounds promising, but what we get is a jumbled collection of storylines that don’t really connect and aren't developed enough. Throughout the movie, the narrative shifts its focus repeatedly, presenting bits and pieces from various characters involved in numerous underdeveloped situations, many of which are brought up only to disappear without any real closure. A significant portion of the film focuses on childhood experiences through the eyes of Thomas (Charlie Vauselle), an introverted eight-year-old trying to navigate life in this unusual environment. However, his story is connected to issues like marital problems, affairs, relationships between people of different races, hidden truths, uncertain goals, political movements, and the last vestiges of European colonialism. There are also several sequences that depict Thomas’s imaginative world, especially his interest in Fantômette, a character from a popular French children's book series about a female superhero who fights crime. As it attempts to cover all this ground, the film borrows elements from other movies, drawing comparisons to films like “The Year of Living Dangerously” (1982) and "The Ice Storm" (1997), among others. Ultimately, though, these pieces don’t come together very well, often leaving viewers wondering what will happen next or why certain scenes were included at all. It feels as if the movie was assembled by a group of people, which results in more annoyance than enjoyment. “Red Island,” unfortunately, is quite disappointing and represents a significant failure to provide audiences with something truly original—something that the film industry could certainly benefit from having more of.

Source on TMDB