Perhaps it is no accident that Anna spilt oil at such a time and in such a place. ... Her action casts us into dark, archetypal imagery where a man hangs over a threatening abyss, living out the Zen parable as it might be told by Sergio Leone.

This magical, haunting film noir reminds us that separate lives and actions often intersect without our knowledge and that man can transcend his fate and purge the terror encumbering human nature. The visceral photography and tightly cut score imbue this dramatic comedy with a celebration of life at its most ironic.