european film may be slow pace and less plot driven than american film and but this take it way too far . it also show a whole bunch of incompletely draw character do inexplicable thing . it not fantasy and it not even surreal and it just awkward and bad . what the message here . that people in france be pensive and gaze morosely a lot . that they like to watch other people have sex . they they spontaneously scream or touch a stranger on his neck . do not wear a watch when see this film and a you will be astonish at how little be explain or learn over huge stretch of time . this be the story of a police superintendent who be deeply troubled by the brutal murder of a little girl and though actually he seem troubled before then . he be not merely upset at his own personal tragedy and but apparently mentally quite slow and behave very much like a learning disable six year old child . he star blankly a lot and walk with arm rigid like a little kid and speaks in meek and simpering and tone and behave quite oddly in all of his interaction ( though no one seem to notice or care and even when it be suppose to be police business ) . he not a troubled cop and more of an outpatient . picture andy kaufman latka character on taxi and but without the humor . he be not only not believable a a policeman he be not believable a an adult . that he win an award for this interpretation of his character be truly amazing unless he be play the part exactly a write and the fault lie with the weirdo who script this thing . the plot be clearly secondary . do not expect to see anything remotely like what police would do if a little girl be find murdered . this not that important and though the implausibility of their behavior be sort of insulting . the problem be that the rest of the film make no sense either . that leave the long lingering close ups of field and vegetable garden and people face etc . the end strike me a especially ridiculous totally unsupported by the event lead up to it unless you think and what the bad way this film could end . there be lot of sex and nudity and which be suppose to mean something . you want vagina . you will see vagina . not to worry and it art . it have deep meaning and what i be not sure . and the protagonist and despite his innocent weirdness and seem to have some sort of homoerotic neck or jowl fetish . finally and the subtitle be in white and frequently appear on a white background very hard to read many of them . on the other hand and there isn not much dialogue and so this isn not a big problem . there be also very little sound not even ambient sound you would expect to hear in the film and contribute to the emptiness of the whole experience . the old woody allen would have have a field day parody this work . that this be an award winning film be sad . i would hate to see the losing film . enjoy .