‘Sacrifice’ Review: Romain Gavras’ Environmentalism Parody Self-Immolates at the Altar of Absurdity [B-] TIFF
Satire and farce make for appealing cinema because they give additional room to directors willing to exercise that creative license. Such is the case with Romain Gavras’ latest, high-stylized and admittedly entertaining film, Sacrifice, which had its world premiere at TIFF this weekend. But in the age of trillionaires, eat-the-rich parodies are a genre on their own, and Sacrifice, for all its amusing bits and amazing montages, abandons having much to say and, ironically, loses itself amongst the cacophony of self-indulgence.
It’s not uncommon for movies during a festival season to come in pairs, and this year is no exception. If you’ve read about Yorgos Lanthimos’ latest, Bugonia, you’ve probably read at least a bit about Sacrifice. It is a very similar set up, but with dolled up locations and featuring an orgiastic battle between two groups of equally deranged individuals, as opposed to a one-on-one showdown like in the Lanthimos film.
The story is set around an over-the-top gathering of the world’s wealthiest and most powerful, in a beautiful cavern covered in marble on a gorgeous island in Greece. The earth’s luminaries are throwing an absurd party to raise funds for a new corporation that has found a new supposed source of energy by, incongruently, mining at the bottom of the ocean. The corporation predictably claims that this new method is clean and will save a dying earth. Meanwhile, a long dormant volcano erupts on a nearby island, which to a group of environmental terrorists in the vicinity signals the end of days.
All of this is conveyed, ensemble cast style, through a large group of parodic characters. Chris Evans is Mike Tyler, a self-obsessed movie megastar with a fragile ego and an endless ability to think about himself while convinced that he has causes he believes in. Vincent Cassel is Braken, another caricature, this one of a smarmy corporate honcho who comes with a voluptuous, preening wife (played by a sinuous Salma Hayek). Braken, in a way like the movie star, also deludes himself and his acolytes into thinking that they are doing good by the environment. These odious characters are joined by a pop singer played by Charlie XCX in the film part of her career (and her second volcano-driven film at TIFF), and by Katie, a woman who uses lies about DEI to get ahead. Her performance of the song “360” in the luscious, cavernous marble interior in which half of the film is set is a highlight and perhaps worth the price of admission.
On the other side of the battle lines a merry band of misfit environmentalists, cult-like from start to finish. Anna Taylor-Joy is Joan, their zealot leader who sports karate clothes, a bandana, and a machine gun. John Malkovich plays her equally deranged but more scientifically minded father. Joan leads her younger siblings and her group of criminals to kidnap three sacrificial lambs from the gathering to offer up to an exploding volcano and save the world.
Sacrifice revels in the absurdity of the camps it mocks—one gilded in self-aggrandizing delusion, the other in self-aggrandizing ideology. Its script is the strongest piece for the first half, and the weakest when the parody fizzles out. It tries hard to throw out new mantras, all of which are jokes, including “MECA” (“Make Earth Cool Again,” a clear reference to “MAGA”) and “THE END STARTS HERE.” The dialogue is razor-sharp and makes fun also of the absurd banalities and whims of contemporary, evanescent news cycles and social media obsessed masses.
And what can be said about the visually arresting style of the film, which now defines Gravais’ touch? Obviously, the costumes are superb—Evans and Hayek have never looked better—and the pounding score moves the action along steadily, and even excitedly. The sweeping Matias Boucard cinematography deserves awards, capturing the grand scale of the islands, the caves, and the jungle, at different lights and with different moves. The set decoration is just as astonishing.
As the sorry progresses into the third act, Sacrifice acquits itself well, if predictably. Alliances fracture, the victims become oppressors, and Tyler’s story arc—his realization that he must do something selfless—is the movie’s most compelling moment. Evans delivers it with profound sincerity, putting together one of his strongest and most honest performances. Much like in Lanthimos’ Bugonia, there is only one road for a movie about this subject matter to travel in 2025, though, and Sacrifice dutifully follows that path, for better or for worse.
Yet it doesn’t quite reach its full potential, as a lot of its own depth is given up at the altar of these tawdry spectacles. It has a lot to say, and it is biting in its commentary. It lands a lot of clever lines and laughs, but never a knockout punch. What else can be said, in this world where everything has been said, analyzed, mocked, and then rebirthed online? In the times of false prophets radicalizing flocks, Sacrifice is well aware of the danger but offers no solution and no particular discovery. There are moments where glimpses of genuine insight come to the forefront in between the mayhem of the story and the set pieces, but they frustratingly vanish each time.
The end result is that Sacrifice turns out as extravagant, but also as self-involved and hollow, as the people at its core. With nothing but clever zingers to deliver, it is fair to ask if this was not just another hoax spectacle, much like Braken’s claim to be mining the bottom of the ocean for sustainable energy. Or perhaps in that failure lies the movie’s one true brilliance—in making you want to jump into the volcano yourself.
Grade: B-
This review is from the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival where Sacrifice had its world premiere. There is no U.S. distribution at this time.
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