IN the feature debut of writer/director Piero Messina, not much happens, but its not happening is a challenging cinematic experience.

Jeanne (Lou De Laage) arrives in Sicily expecting fiancé Giuseppe to join her at the house where his divorced mother Anna (Juliette Binoche) lives with a small staff. Anna and Jeanne have not yet met. The film examines the interaction between them.

The prelude to Messina’s screenplay tells us something that Anna knows but doesn’t yet feel able to reveal. Telling us several times how she yearns to make love with Giuseppe, Jeanne is unaware how much Anna knows about her relationship with him. Can a flingette a couple of years previously be the reason for his having gone off her? We must imagine.

Messina’s explanation of Jeanne’s personality is subtle, guarded, providing limited information to help us to work out its complexities. Jeanne spends a day swimming and boating with two young backpacker men she has met by chance. Their sexuality may swing either way.

Juliette Binoche is a splendid actress in whom the camera is justifiably more than a little in love. The film’s slow pace, minimalist dialogue and enigmatic plot combine to invite us to consider its clues.

At Palace Electric