Fausto 5.0

Odd behaviour can be seductive at first, but then becomes annoying. That's what Fausto 5.0 is. When you discover it's directed by three guys, the inconsistencies are more understandable.

The film has a terrific look, like a post-modern Brazil, futuristic and yet decayed, with hotels wrapped in plastic and the light rinsed of colour. It opens in a hospital, where patients are laid out in cubicles, and there's the feeling of a deadly virus abroad.

The top surgeon is Dr Fausto (Miguel Angel Sola), who appears overstretched and suicidally depressed. His secretary (Najwas Nimri) is in love with him, but he's never noticed. He does have a problem; he's boring.

It's a Spanish movie, but is this Spain after the collapse of the EU? It's more like a nightmare and soon the good doctor will wake up and take a shower. He doesn't. He bumps into an old patient, called Santos (Eduard Fernandez), whom he thought was dead.

Oops! Here we go. Ever since The Others, ghosts have been perfectly acceptable in serious movies. Santos says he can grant wishes, but he says a lot of things that are rubbish and it's probably not true.

Doc F goes to a conference, where Santos keeps popping up, like an infuriating jack rabbit, providing treats, including his daughter for after-lecture servicing. He has a dream within the dream - if that's what this is - of a black dog eating his innards. By this time, all aspects of rational thought have been shredded and an air of orgiastic indulgence is about to blow hot through the trouser department.

The art director deserves an award. The three movie directors should light another doobie and switch on the porn channel for ideas.

You never discover what 5.0 stands for, unless it's a medical term for batty but harmless.