Damien Odoul made a strong impression last year with his sweaty rural drama Le Souffle, but judging by this, he wasn't ready for a bigger budget. It feels like he shot a 1970s relationship story, then chopped half the scenes out in an attempt to create something more arty and leftfield.

What's left is a frustratingly opaque portrait of a dysfunctional relationship that never seems to progress. Scarred by the Algerian war, the husband (Benoît Magimel) is a lecherous, gambling alcoholic; wife Laetitia Casta reserves her affections for their son, and oscillates between fury and mute sacrifice. It's technically competent with an attractive retro-tint to it, and Casta conjures memories of Brigitte Bardot in the striking Mediterranean setting, but it's all numbingly tedious.