Loveless

This Russian tale of a couple on the brink of divorce whose child disappears is certainly very well done in a technical sense. It's deliberately designed to be grim and moody and difficult. My problem with it was that was also, for long stretches, not particularly engaging.

The two parents are the type of people who should never have come together, or had a child, or, indeed, should ever be involved in anybody else. They are entirely selfish creatures (as we see when they're with their new alternative partners) and in all honesty their kid is well rid of them. The only characters who seem at all engaging to me are the various search party members who are altruistically attempting to help a child. And I found it difficult to be drawn into this level of misery when there's nothing even remotely redeeming or interesting about anybody.

This has got critical acclaim elsewhere, and I'm sure if you're in the mood for a slather of misery, this will tick your buttons. But it didn't do it for me at all.