Advantages of Travelling by Train

A psychoanalyst meets a woman on a train.

In order to pass the time, he tells her a story. Before long, the character in the story starts to narrate his own tale.

And on and on it goes in this surreal, Russian Doll of a movie that recalls the work of Bunuel, especially Phantom of Liberty and Obscure Object of Desire.

(It also reminded me of Utopia, the excellent British TV series - especially the vivid colour scheme and the experimental score)

Some of the stories include:

An army amputee who returns home with a harrowing story

A female book editor who becomes trapped in a horribly twisted, masochistic relationship

And a 'slug man' with a prosthetic exoskeleton who journeys to Paris where he meets a beautiful woman with one leg longer than the other

This is a wildly ambitious film, made even more impressive by the fact that it is Aritz Moreno's debut feature.

The tales are bizarre and shocking but never feel exploitative or cheap. There is a definite method to the madness here.

Except for the ending, which feels a little rushed and abrupt, the film plays beautifully.

The individual stories are gripping, the performances are exceptional, the transitions are smooth and the pacing is great.

This is a highly assured work from a daring and uncompromising filmmaker.

It'll be interesting to see where Moritz goes from here.