Attenberg (18)

Starring: Ariane Labed, Giorgos Lanthimos, Vangelis Mourikis, Evangelia Randou

Sombre whimsy is the keynote of this minimalist Greek drama, about a young woman (Ariane Labed) struggling to come to terms with Eros and Thanatos.

Unsure of her own sexuality and resentful of her more worldly best friend (Evangelia Randou), she apes the animal behaviour seen on the nature programmes of David Attenborough – thus the approximate title – or else speculates on modern life with her ailing father (Vangelis Mourikis). "We built an industrial colony on sheep-pens," he remarks, which may be pertinent in the light of Greece's economic woes. Director Athina Rachel Tsangari makes few concessions to realism, preferring affectless dialogue and bursts of synchronised dance routines whose meaning remains obscure. Perhaps viewed under the influence of drugs or drink the film might spring to comic life, but taken straight it is far more likely to get on your nerves.