As an existential objet d'art Zama stands as a serious achievement. But that won't prevent even the most sophisticated of cinephiles from staggering out of the theater, wondering "What in the world did I just see?"

This blackly funny-and ultimately haunting-examination of colonial history is thoroughly characteristic in its brilliant manipulation of physical space.

If cinema is about being transported to another place, Martel is unrivaled as a guide...

I must give Martel credit for her firmness in sticking to the story. But there wasn't enough visually or thematically here in a film that focuses on a man who is…just waiting.