French scifi comedy auteur Quentin Dupieux, who first came to the world’s attention with 2010’s Rubber, a film about a homicidal tire (if you have not seen it, seek it out–absurd and delightful), has returned with speculative satire Incredible But True (Incroyable mais vrai). Funny, fantastic, and entertaining, the film flies by and makes its points without hitting the audience over the head with them.

Incredible But True (Incroyable mais vrai) opens with middle-aged Alain (the expressive and put-upon Alain Chabat) and his wife Marie (Léa Drucker) touring the home they are considering purchasing. Their real estate agent (Stéphane Pezerat) then shows them the trapdoor in the basement floor that opens to a chute going down. If one enters and climbs down, one emerges in the house twelve hours later and three days younger. Alain and Marie decide to buy the house and exploit this unique feature.

The film is a fun satire about the devices and tricks we all use to fight off age and feeling less than one was when one was younger. It’s clear, however, the artificial devices that make one younger contain their own dangers and self-destructions. Despite the discovery that the hole in the basement also rots the interior of whatever passes through it (which makes for one of the most wonderfully horrific moments I’ve seen in a while in this otherwise light and fantastic film), it turns out some people can’t help themselves.

Chabat is the exasperated heart of the film, but the performances of all of the leads are solid. Dupieux’s writing and effortless, seemingly invisible direction really demonstrate his gift for absurdist, surreal satire in the form of genre parody. Reminiscent of Dave Made a Maze, ordinary people find themselves in fantastical situations and demonstrate that we are indeed a foolish, foolish species, happy to fall into traps of our own making. Fun and funny, Incredible But True (Incroyable mais vrai) is an enjoyable romp perfectly timed at 74 minutes.

9 out of 10