Les Favoris de la lune

Three couples: an antique dealer with numerous lovers and her weapons making husband; a policeman and his eye-catching wife, who is the weapons maker’s lover; a hairdresser and her locksmith partner, who maintains an interest in explosives and is the former lover of the antique dealer. Not much would seem to connect these disparate characters except the journey of an 18th century chinaware set and a 19th century nude portrait, which, at various points, pass through each one’s hands. The motley crew expands as an array of diverse characters comes across these enigmatic objects, including thieves, prostitutes, musicians, professors and beggars.

Winner of the jury prize at the Venice Film Festival, Otar Iosseliani’s film is a hallucinatory journey across a world of chance and coincidence. Les Favoris de la lune bears all the innovative traits we have come to expect from the Georgian-French auteur, as he transcends the conventions of narrative and exposition to tell a different tale; one that is a powerful visual experience, filled with associative imagery and meaning for the spectator to savour. This is pure arthouse cinema at its most imaginative, boldest and best. Think Magnolia or Short Cuts meets Bunuel.