Angst with a humorous edge

Those wishing to avoid heartfelt Christmas fare or long, spectacular epics should take note of this downbeat but darkly comic offering from Belgian Bouli Lanners.

Vincent Lecuyer plays Demitri, an introverted young estate agent working in a desolate suburb who is trying to make contact with a girl (Hélène De Reymaeker) from a furniture factory.

All around him are characters who seem to have lost their way in life, and this is best expressed not so much by the acting (though it is very good) but by the director's painterly approximation of the flat landscapes and suburban sprawl of his setting, in and around Liege.

Angst is everywhere, but the film has black humour that prevents it from being too depressing.

And Jean-Paul De Zaeytijd's cinematography is extraordinarily eloquent as it watches a world within which hope takes a backseat and nothing is quite what it seems.

Ultranova
Cert: cert12A