Lucille and Joe have moved to Gozo, a tiny island in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Malta. They have a nice car, a steady income, a beautiful farmhouse with breathtaking views and a swimming pool. They seem to have it all. But when a young tourist goes missing on the island, Joe's disquieted conscience begins to get the better of him. As the buried horrors of Lucille and Joe's past resurface, the cracks begin to show in their homespun paradise.
Cinematography
The island itself becomes a character—beautiful and suffocating.
Acting
Ophelia Lovibond's brittle, watchful performance.
Direction
Bowen's patient, unblinking eye for domestic rot.
Director
Miranda Bowen
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Miranda Bowen shot on location in Gozo using natural light, with many scenes improvised around the cast's actual exhaustion from the Mediterranean heat.
The film quietly interrogates British expat culture in former colonies—Joe and Lucille's 'paradise' is built on Maltese labor they barely acknowledge.
MT
US
