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Director Ursula Meier describes this fine wry drama as a road movie in reverse, writes Mike Polanyk.

There are shades of an Ealing comedy at the outset, and echoes of Ken Loach at the end.

And it boasts an extraordinary performance from Isabelle Huppert, as the mother of a family whose peaceful existence is wrecked by the opening of a busy motorway just yards from their isolated house.

Refusing to move, Marthe (Huppert), Michel (Olivier Gourmet) and their three children are forced to find innovative ways to adapt to their new environment.

When the summer holiday begins, this offbeat family are faced with a huge traffic jam.

There's a wonderfully quirky feel to the start of the film, which is almost British in tone.

Then it turns very dark.

Meier directs with panache, bringing a spirit of the nouvelle vague to the film. Agnes Godard's cinematography has the air of an Edward Hopper painting.

Some French critics have read a little too much in it, but aside from the chin-stroking and eternal search for symbolism, this is a fine film.

Mesrine: Killer instinct (L'instinct de Mort)

Released in two parts at opposite ends of this month, Mesrine is an epic and brutal tale of crime and punishment inspired by the true-life exploits of one of France's most notorious criminals.

Director Jean-Francois Richet pulls no punches with the explosions of violence as he chronicles the rise and fall of Jacques Mesrine in a smidgen over four hours in the two films. The first chapter, Killer Instinct, opens with split screens showing Mesrine (Vincent Cassel) and his accomplice and girlfriend Sylvie (Ludivine Sagnier) trying to sneak out of late-1970s Paris in disguise, only to be ambushed at traffic lights by gun-toting police.

The action rewinds to 1959 Algeria to trace Mesrine's early years in the French army before he returns home to develop his skills as an armed robber for slimy crime boss Guido (Gerard Depardieu). The story continues in the second chapter, Public Enemy No 1 released on August 28.

Mesrine won three Cesars (the Gallic equivalent of the Oscar) including the director's prize for Richet and Best Actor for Cassel.

Comparisons to Scarface are justified, though Richet's magnum opus doesn't attain the heights of Brian De Palma's classic.

Adam

Writer-director Max Mayer's drama is a sobering portrait of romantic travails in New York City, proving beyond doubt that polar opposites attract.

At the film's heart is a strong performance from British actor Hugh Dancy as an orphan living with Asperger's syndrome.

Adam lives alone in the apartment he used to share with his late father, working as an electronics engineer by day and gazing dreamily at the stars by night.

With family friend Harlan (Frankie Faison) watching over him, Adam learns to do laundry by himself and to shop for the packets of macaroni and cheese which constitute his daily diet.

Nursery school teacher Beth (Rose Byrne) is attracted to Adam, to the consternation of her parents (Peter Gallagher, Amy Irving) who want their little girl to marry someone with prospects. A high-functioning autistic simply won't do.

This engaging and offbeat love story loses its way once the central characters enter into their unlikely romance. Thankfully, Mayer doesn't sell his film's soul for a sugar-coated happy ending.

The yes men fix the world

Don't believe everything you see on the news. In 2004, 20 years after the Bhopal catastrophe which exposed more than half-a-million people to toxic gases from a pesticide plant, the BBC broadcast an 'official' apology from Dow Chemical Company. It was a hoax by The Yes Men, aka Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, who adopt the guise of executives to expose the greed and moral degradation of big business. In this documentary directed by Bichlbaum, Bonanno and Kurt Engfehr, the impostors take aim at corporate giants such as Exxon.

The meerkats

Narrated by Paul Newman from a script written by Alexander McCall Smith, this is a fascinating documentary about these lovable and entertaining creatures.