Tasher Desh (The Land Of Cards)

This is a striking oddity. Director Kaushik Mukherjee, aka Q, made a splash with the controversial 'Gandu' on last year's international festival circuit, and this allegorical fantasy-musical will only multiply his admirers. Beginning like a Goa trance chillout remix of 'The Tree of Life' – all wobbly hand-held close ups and lens-flare whiteouts - the story follows a prince marooned on a strange island known as the Land of Cards (the soldiers dress in colours representing the different red and black suits). He brings a revolution to this militaristic regime by enchanting the forces with song, and the sexual and emotional boundaries constraining the troops begin to break down. Q’s vibrant direction borders on overkill at times, and the images are often more pleasing than penetrating, but this is heady, and surprisingly sexy stuff.