Polynesia is in the spotlight in this biopic, centered on the early 1970s, when the two-time Oscar-winning actor fell in love with Tetiaroa, and made the crazy bet of setting up an ecological retreat there.
“Once upon a time there was a legendary actor, an environmental architect and a Tahitian dream”. The trailer for Waltzing with Brandoa film dedicated to the famous American actor, centered on the period 1969-1974, has just been unveiled. Besides the striking resemblance between lead actor Billy Zane (seen in Titanic) and Marlon Brando, the Polynesian settings are particularly in the spotlight.
Indeed, the film directed by Bill Fishman deals particularly with the transformation of the Tetiaroa atoll, acquired by the actor after the filming of Rebels of the Bounty. The scenario is directly inspired by the memoirs of architect Bernard Judge (Waltzing with Brando : Planning a Paradise in Tahiti), with whom the interpreter Godfather imagined and designed his ecological retreat project on an atoll cut off from the world. The trailer notably features the actor attempting to create clean drinking water from his own urine, or electricity using eel farming. We also see the landing of a plane, on what was then only a dirt runway, or the reluctance of investors.
Shot in 2021, in Moorea, Tahiti and Tetiaroa, the film should be released in 2025. It will be previewed at the Turin Film Festival, scheduled for November 22 to 30 in Italy.
