Videos: L'Appartement (15), Artificial Eye (available to rent 23 Feb)

In Gilles Mimouni's engrossing romantic thriller, Max (Vincent La Haine Cassel) risks losing his wife-to-be and career to pursue a woman he believes to be his lost love. You won't have seen a film so intricately structured since The Usual Suspects, but don't expect to have to wait until the death to have the narrative knots unravelled.

Mimouni directs the puzzle with the lightest of touches throughout, yet no sooner has Max's quest reached a climax than the screenplay darkens the chase. Plot and character are so intimately entwined, it's difficult to divulge who or what Max meets on his adventure without ruining L'Appartement. Much of the enjoyment comes from the cast's restrained, note-perfect performances and the understated spell Mimouni weaves (where else but on an English subtitle to a French film could you get away with "I fell for a brunette as if she was a blonde"?) 4/5