Unusually straight forward for Ruiz, relatively speaking of course, and as such not one of his most distinguished films. That said, there are still plenty of his typically eccentric touches to be found in the off-kilter visuals and bits of narrative weirdness (also, in that like virtually all of Ruiz's films it's essentially a story about storytelling itself). On the plus side, it's relative coherence makes it easier to watch than some of his denser work.

I remember at the Venice film festival, me trying to keep my eyelids open, a friend sleeping soundly, and Raoul Ruiz himself walking past us, leaving the screening in the middle of an otherwise pretty empty balcony.