Raoul Ruiz sets this deliciously macabre farce in Switzerland “in the near future.” The military are the masters of capital now, but how surreal is that? Life goes on. In a bucolic village, an insane asylum masks the fact that the townspeople are also lunatics-but elegant, wealthy ones. Livia, admittedly crazier than most, sees angels where she should see trouble coming. As the heir to her mother's fortune, her loving family has put a hit out on her, in the person of Pointpoirot, a homicidal psychopath set free for this purpose. But Livia and Pointpoirot find that they are kindred spirits. Suffice to say, it's best not to get attached to any of the other characters. The police decide to attack the problem in a novel way, by appearing to do nothing, while in fact...doing nothing. But, they also serve who sit around in cafes, as we learn when the true “monster” is revealed. A meeting of King of Hearts and The Mouse That Roared, Ruiz's superbly crafted film captivates with its mixture of maliciousness and sweetness. The delicate balance mirrors the heroine who, with her fragile grip on reality, sees everything exactly as it is.