OPENS MARCH 12, CERT 15, 130 MINS

Young writer-director Delphine Gleize is tipped to be one of the most important French film-makers of her generation. On the evidence of her debut, already a multiple award-winner, it’s easy to see why. She has vivid visual command: this complex story is marked by fresh, often startling imagery, from visceral bullfighting to grisly taxidermy to surreal flights of romanticism.

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Set largely in Andalusia, it feels more Spanish than French. When a bull is killed (having gored a matador), its chopped-up pieces touch down in many different lives. A bone causes trauma for a little girl on Valium and a big dog; the eyes build a bridge for a philandering scientist and his pregnant wife; the horns effect a reunion of sorts for a creepy taxidermist and his family. Former Bu