A subtle and provocative work under whose deceptively simple surface lies a rich political parable with overtones of science-fiction, screwball comedy, ghost story, and absurdist drama. A young Geneva couple decides to take up a Third World existence in Algeria. They sell their possessions, pack what's left, throw a farewell party - and then get a telegram delaying their departure. The central section of the film, a funny, disturbing tour-de-force - details the two weeks the “travellers” spend in their empty apartment too embarrassed to go outside, living on catered food, completely cut off from the outside world with only words for company.

“As good as La Salamandre. It has the same firm mind, rare in films, and the same subdued gaiety, which creeps out like the grin of a child trying to keep a straight face.”