Also known as Fils De Deux Mères, this is a surprisingly accessible outing for the ever-eclectic Ruiz.
Indeed, there’s a distinct whiff of Chabrol about the proceedings, as Huppert’s smart Parisienne agrees to share her son with Balibar, an enigmatic stranger who also claims to be the boy’s mother.
Making inventive use of video inserts to shift perspective, this teasing study of identity, duality and humans as property reprises themes explored in Ruiz’s Shattered Image.
However, this is a much more controlled exercise. The duel between the laissez-faire Huppert and the sinisterly measured Balibar makes for the most cerebral cat fight cinema has seen in years; but much will depend on whether you buy into the film’s indigenous symbolism and magic realism.