Playing fast and loose with its subject's life, Julien Temple's stylised attempt to capture the anarchic free spirit that was French director Jean Vigo won't win any prizes for authenticity, but gets full marks for passion.
The shooting of Vigo's two hugely influential movies Zéro De Conduit and L'Atalante make up barely a fifth of the film - instead, the doomed relationship between Vigo and his Polish amour Lydu forms the core of the drama. Frain and Bohringer are outstanding as the terminally ill lovers.
Unfortunately, Temple's eagerness to cram in Vigo's 29 years leads to impatient pacing and unwelcome lapses into melo-drama. Admirably ambitious though it is, the result is a film as restless as Vigo's spirit.
