Surrealist comedy delivering a visual feast populated with gripping performances. A day-in-the-life tale of a shadowy character called M. Oscar results in a concoction tailor-made for cinephiles. Makes other films look staid.

The spark for the film came from Carax’s observation that stretch limousines were being increasingly used for weddings. He was interested in their bulkiness, saying: “They’re outdated, like the old futurist toys of the past. I think they mark the end of an era, the era of large, visible machines.”

From that grew an idea for a film about the increasing digitalisation of society, a science-fiction scenario where organisms and visible machines share a common superfluity.

The opening scene was inspired by the E. T. A. Hoffmann novella Don Juan, about a man who discovers a secret door in his bedroom that leads to an opera house.

‘A gorgeous furry teacup of a film – pure pleasure.’ The Guardian.