Surreal sounds and celluloid thrills

Taking his inspiration from the long-extinct Japanese cinema tradition of the benshi, director Claudio Valdes Kuri has his merry crew whisk us back to the golden age of silent cinema.

In its original Japanese form, the benshi was a solo narrator who acted out and sang along to the action on screen. But, in this Mexican mutation, a quartet of performers combine to provide a surreal soundtrack that gives a strange spin to the celluloid thrills.

Talking in tongues that flip between Japanese, Spanish and English - it feels like you're in a United Nations debate without a translation headset - the cast, spurred on by a galloping pianist, turn Mexican thriller El Automovil Gris into a crazy cartoon as they crack out a seemingly inexhaustible supply of silly voices.

There are some high comedy moments and some contemporary eccentricities, but at times it's uncomfortably close to Alistair MacGowan talkover territory. And, once you've got the joke, the creaky gangland movie isn't gripping enough to deflect suspicion that this is a one-trick pony.

The Grey Automobile plays as part of a double bill with Dark Roots, performed by Teatro Linea de Sombra (tonight and tomorrow 9.15pm).

Tonight and tomorrow, Riverside Studios, Crisp Road W6, 7.45pm, £15, £9 concs. Tel: 020 8237 1111. www.riversidestudios.co.uk. Tube: Hammersmith

The Grey Automobile (Mexart 2005)