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Up to speed with modern French history? Then you'll have a better shot at making sense of I Saw Ben Barka Get Killed, a playful but murky thriller based on real events. In 1965, exiled Moroccan politician Mehdi Ben Barka (Simon Abkarian) was snatched from the streets of Paris, never to be seen again. The whys and wherefores of this unsolved scandal are explored via a labyrinthine mix of fact and speculation that leaves more questions than answers.

Ben Barka's disappearance isn't the only mystery we're faced with. The film starts Sunset Boulevard-style with the corpse of our narrator, ex-con turned movie producer Georges Figon (Charles Berling). Flashing back, we see him embark on a documentary about decolonisation, which will be written by Marguerite Duras (Josiane Balasko) and directed by Georges Franju (Jean-Pierre L茅aud). Joining this illustrious company is Ben Barka, who's brought on board as historical consultant. On the way to a restaurant rendezvous, the Moroccan is intercepted by French police and taken to a gangster's villa...

"BEWILDERING ARRAY OF SUBPLOTS"

Though we're dealing with the kidnapping and probable murder of a real person, helmer Serge Le Peron's approach is more sportive than sober, taking in references to film noir, slashes of black comedy and a cool jazz soundtrack. Berling's front-and-centre portrayal of a chancer increasingly out of his depth also compels, but not enough to anchor the movie's bewildering array of sub-plots and secondary characters. As the net tightens there's a sense of claustrophobia, but it's equally matched by confusion.