You have to watch the odd foreign film such as this to understand just how far Hollywood has strayed from cinematic honesty. This is a simple, beautifully done, superbly acted piece of theatre set in one of the world's least known places, the fog shrouded French island of St. Pierre, off Newfoundland. It's a simple yet gripping film with an intriguing plot, almost a morality play. There is visceral human drama, much mystery and wonderful soul stirring pathos. And how nice to see a movie without the mandatory Hollywood happy ending. A well spent evening!

• 'Alain Corneau' was to direct the film in 1997, but abandoned the production after disagreements with the films producers.
• The film was to be completely filmed on the island of Saint-Pierre, but when the snow failed to arrive, the production had to move further north to Newfoundland for certain sequences.
• Director Patrice Leconte approached Emir Kusturica for the role of Neel Auguste after seeing a newspaper picture of the director looking exactly how he pictured Auguste.