Inspired by the true story of two little Algerian boys who killed a French friend while the Algerian war for independence raged, this is more interesting and cohesive than many experimental films. It's a poetic and occasionally darkly humorous look at crime, death, innocence, the passage of time, society and guilt. The screen is divided into four quadrants and the entire film unfolds in these double split-screens. Sometimes we get two views of the exact same moment, at others the general action is the same, but there are subtle differences in performance or lighting. At other times the split screens allow a gradual transition from one location to another, one screen seeming to pull the others away from what they've fixed their gaze on. While the specific meanings of the often surreal elements can be elusive, the overall sense of theme is strong and often surprisingly moving. Not 'easy' film-making, but especially on 2nd viewing where I could just allow it to wash over me without trying to figure it out, it was alternately hypnotic, funny and moving,
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