Like a distant French cousin to the late David Lynch, but with a name significantly harder to pronounce, director Lucile Hadzihalilovic has been making bizarre, intricately crafted movies for over two decades now. A rarity in Gallic cinema, where talk-heavy dramas and comedies tend to be the norm, her quietly disturbing films, which include Innocence, Evolution and Earwig, often put children in hazardous situations where horror, sci-fi and fantasy come clashing together in highly artful ways.

Her latest feature, The Ice Tower (La Tour de glace), is no exception, weaving a twisted retro fairytale that sits somewhere between Frozen and Mulholland Drive. Starring Marion Cotillard, who also headlined Innocence, it’s the kind of movie where it’s better not to know much before going in. Suffice it to say that if you’re looking for a Disney film or a horror flick, or perhaps both, The Ice Tower isn...