Search: Starring Philippe Nahon

At its best early on as it plays the culture clashes.

Belmondo oozes Gallic charm, as the Bogart-like Silien, and Paris itself is beautifully captured by cinematographer Nicolas Hayer.

While there is absurdity aplenty on display here, the film also requires a very high tolerance for the broadest of humour and the slightest of whimsy.

Lanners' script is witty and moves at a steady pace.

For all its confrontational posturing, there are moments when the film fails to take the leap into the abyss.

Gaspar Noe's film is that rare cinematic achievement, a truly original work that grips you by the neck and forces you to watch something so ugly, your mind bleeds.

Anchored by Depardieu's unflinching performance and his sheer physicality, the film mixes melancholic nostalgia and mordant satire with a strong sense of the absurd.

As an example of yuk cinema, this is a serious piece of work. There is no profound message, except that living alone with nature does your head in.

Everything from the appearance of the creatures to the often surprisingly visceral gore is shot in quite a straightforward way, which somehow gets under your skin.

The seriousness of their approach overcomes the merest suggestion of parody.