John D. (Fabio Testi/Yannick Renier) is enjoying his retirement in a luxury hotel on the French Riviera, but when his neighbor disappears, John finds himself haunted by his past as a spy in the 1960s. It was an era of glamour, where flamboyant villains cavorted and diamonds glittered. Through a fragmented narrative in which past and present start to blur, John’s own demons begin to reemerge.

The latest film by husband-and-wife team Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani, Reflection in a Dead Diamond is a sexy yet brutal throwback to 60s surrealism. An in-your-face homage to classic spy fare that casts a contemporary eye on the gender politics of the era. The locales are as gorgeous as the action scenes are vicious — full of broken glass and rusty fish hooks.

Featuring sumptuous production design, snappy editing and self-reflexive twitches, Reflection in a Dead Diamond offers frenetic spectacle for the discerning genre fan. Yet for all its flash, there is a haunted story simmering beneath its reflective surfaces.—Frédéric Boyer

Bruno Forzani and Hélène  Cattet