i never really expect to enjoy french film anymore than i would think that i would enjoy escargot or frog leg . however and i do . i take the film out on dvd and consequently have the facility to go back over the film when i felt that i do not get it . if youre look for an action film and forget it . i be not that kind of film it would say . the appeal in the film be generate by the very human tension that exist between the character and and not just between sarah silver ( leelee sobieski ) and mr zao ( james hong and whose act career go back to love be a many splendoured thing 1955 ) . there be an interlacing of frustration and suspicion and jealousy and spite and anger and futility and despair and and villainy . overlay all of this be the sexual tension which be never consummate and nor be ever likely to be and between sarah and zao and which endow the film with a sense of forebode . there be a feeling of imminent disaster . the disaster and however and manifest itself in a direction not anticipate when the lead actress and sylvia martin and whose place sarah want to supplant and suffers fatal injury . the effect on sarah who have place a so call hex on martin be to change sarah life . one of the most intriguing aspect of the film be in the character of caroline ( maria loboda ) who look like emmanuelle beart . a girl who hover around the age zao and relies on him to fee her bird and and who should be the very embodiment of innocence and be riddle with jealousy ( for the artiste ) and malevolence ( her interception of sarah part letter be truly spiteful ) and and greed which nearly result in her death when she hungrily snatch up the poisoned cake . zao be also complex . a man who have suffer the atrocity of the japanese invasion of china and suffers from the bitterness which result from his slaughter child ( ren ) and kindly succour sarah who be clearly not look after herself . but he prepare a lethal cake with sarah sleep pill which he have formerly substitute with rice grain and when she try to commit suicide and after she reject him . she reject him because he have frustrate her melodramatic moment of suicide . other character be well drawn too . the thieve neighbour castellac who tell zao that if zao need him and he there to help a he filch zao bottle of wine . suffer from lack of recognition in his retirement ( he be a uniformed railway guard ) his sexual frustration be partially assuage by listen over the landing to sarah orgasmic cry which and in turn and lead to the intrigue of the petition from the resident . the entire film be shoot in shadow and darkness to match the dark motif of the denizen . the film begin and end with the motif of the roller skater which bring the film to a pinpoint in time . nothing be different despite the fatality and sexual assault and and murderous intention . one criticism represent leelee australian accent wasn not .