What a strange hothouse flower of a movie this is. It's a revival of Dangerous Liaisons, and of all the screen adaptations, I'm not sure that it isn't the most persuasive - because it is absolutely deadpan, without the roguery and high-campery of the Stephen Frears classic, or the modern teen version, Cruel Intentions.

The action is transplanted to 18th-century Korea: a predatory roué bets a beautiful, sophisticated woman that he can seduce a young virgin. The director subtracts most of the knowing comic sauciness that generally attends the tale, replacing it with glacial eroticism and tragedy - presented amid exquisitely poised watercolour landscapes.