It's not immediately obvious why this low-key tale of crime and redemption caught the eye of the Cannes jury in 2005 ahead of more loudly trumpeted fare like Sin City, A History Of Violence, Broken Flowers and Michael Haneke’s Hidden.

It follows the trials of Bruno (Renier), a smalltime Fagin whose hand-to-mouth existence depends on fencing goods stolen by two young dodgers.

Having given birth to their son Jimmy, Bruno's girlfriend Sonia (François) rejoins him to continue their rough-and-tumble relationship.

But while she queues for her benefit cheque, he sells the baby to shady adoption-brokers. It seems like a good idea at the time.

Sonia’s shock puts her back in hospital and Bruno realises he has to get Jimmy back. And so he does, but Sonia understandably turns her back on him and now he has the police and the black-marketeers on his case.

Bruno is not a despicable guy; he simply has no sense of consequence. He treats his foot-soldiers fairly and spends all-too-scarce cash on a new jacket for Sonia.

But he clearly feels no connection to his son, treating him as just another commodity to be sold. He rationalises his actions to Sonia by saying that they can always have another.

Renier's Bruno often looks pensive, as befitting a crook out of his depth. It's difficult to know what's going on inside his head, which is what the directors intend. They want to keep us wondering if Bruno is capable of remorse.

However, their naturalistic, coolly observational style often verges on the dull. There are simply too many scenes free of incident or dialogue to hold the attention of the average movie-goer.

Rewarding in its own non-judgmental way but the highlight for most will be the car-versus-scooter chase which is nicely done.

Elliott Noble