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Those who enjoy the deadpan sensibilities of Jim Jarmusch and Aki Kaurismaki should appreciate this melancholic debut feature from Belgian actor-turned-filmmaker Bouli Lanners. Set against the unprepossessing backdrop of the semi-industrial outskirts around a wintry Liege, Ultranova tells the slender yet appealing tale of a shy and lonely twentysomething estate agent Dimitri (Vincent Lecuyer), who embarks on a tentative relationship with a bored factory worker Cathy (Hélène De Reymaeker).
Given the degree of Dimitri's emotional reticence, it might seem unlikely that he should be part of a team selling starter homes in such dreary locations. What's significant here is that he's utterly uninspired by his work and that his hapless colleagues, such as the tactless Philippe (Michaël Abiteboul) and the security-obsessed Vincent (Vincent Belorgey) provide some drolly comic moments. It's also the secretive nature of Dimitri's personality which initially appeals to Cathy, who is intrigued by the rumours that this sad-eyed young man experienced a profound family tragedy in his childhood.
"IMMACULATE WIDESCREEN COMPOSITIONS"
Atmosphere rather than plot or dialogue defines the ennui-laden Ultranova, with the washed out colours helping create an off-kilter world of deserted bars, half-finished housing developments and mysteriously inflating car air-bags. The immaculate widescreen compositions both accentuate the loneliness experienced by the misfit characters and evoke a measure of beauty in the banality of everyday life. Benefiting throughout from effectively understated performances, and a minimalist electronic score, Lanners concludes his lean film on a note of fitting ambiguity.
In French with English subtitles.
