The Dead

Released from prison, a middle-aged man sets out to see his daughter, who lives on an island somewhere up-river. The subsequent journey, which occupies most of this elegant and concise film, is depicted as a series of natural events, satisfying basic human needs: eating, buying a gift, visiting a prostitute - all permeated by an atmosphere of mystery. Yet from its opening shot (gliding slowly through a forest, the camera floats across the bodies of two dead youths) to its unsettling and ambiguous finale, this is a work of extraordinary precision and grace, whose exquisite minimalism conceals a darker and more elusive purpose.