An empty highway extends out as far as the eye can see in the middle of a quiet and barren landscape. Built many years ago it has remained unused and is slowly decaying. Just a few meters from the fencing where the tarmac is shot through with green, stands a lonely house with a little garden. In this house lives a family. Then summer begins, and work starts again: the highway is to be put into use…

As time goes by, the tone of the film shifts, becoming less comic as Meier introduces elements of melodrama and horror. This adds to the mystery of the story, which gives only vague hints as to what drives the family so determinedly to stay put in the face of such adversity. Although the tone of the film, and the sense of isolation and detachment of the family are at times reminiscent of "The Cement Garden", the strong and distinctive vision is clearly Meier's own.

Sandra Hebron, London Film Festival