Opus Zero

A composer wrestles with issues of sound and silence while tidying up his late father's affairs in this Mexican-German co-production from British director Daniel Graham. It's a slow-moving, reflective piece that benefits from the ever-watchable Willem Dafoe in the central role. He dispenses aphorisms like "silence is a value by which we measure sound" as his father's demise causes him to rethink his relationship with art and life. All of which is absorbing to an extent, but debut director Graham struggles with dramatic development, not least when the plot introduces a documentary film crew who are seeking to recreate on film the textures of ordinary life - only to discover that life is rarely ordinary. Attractively shot in an ultra-wide screen ratio, Opus Zero is about big ideas, but it lacks the wherewithal to clearly communicate its intentions. It is, at times, fascinating, not least for Dafoe fans, but it ultimately proves a frustrating experience.