9 FINGERS *

With elements of "Kiss Me Deadly" and Lars von Trier's "Europa" and a lot else in-between this decidedly daft film is a kind of Kafkaesque 'thriller' minus the thrills. It won its director, F.J. Ossang, the best direction prize at Locarno though I have no idea what the competition was. It certainly looks the part even if it doesn't make a lot of sense; this is an art-house movie for smart kids who like this sort of thing. You could say it's very 'French'. Don't get me wrong, I didn't dislike it. I was actually rather bemused by it. Ossang is undoubtedly a skilled film-maker but he's also an acquired taste.