Two young anti-globalisation activists are looking for ingenious ways to unsettle the middle-classes and get them to re-think their comfortable lives. Peter and Jan break into houses in well-to-do districts when the owners are away on holiday. They shake up their possessions, steal nothing, hurt no one and leave an unsettling calling card.

The dynamic changes when Peter decides to let his girlfriend Jule in on the secret. This leads to sexual tension as Jule and Jan starts to have feelings for each other unbeknownst to Peter. Also, a simple break in goes awry when they spend too long at one of the houses. When the owner comes home, one thing leads to another and the next law they break is more serious - kidnap - and worse, there's no proper thinking going on as to what they are going to do next.

This is the first German film to be selected for competition at Cannes in 11 years - and justifiably so. It manages to be freethinking, tense and funny and may make cinemagoers question their teenage years. If anything, this is a rites-of-passage movie for young adults, but it would be wrong to see it just in that light.

Austrian-born director Hans Weingartner, who is also a neuroscientist, was an archetypal angry young man who admits that the story is inspired by his frustration at the lack of political ideals in those of his own generation.

Good performances from the three main leads: Daniel Bruhl will be remembered for Good Bye Lenin!, in which he made a strong impression on Western audiences, and newcomers Julia Jentsch and Stipe Erceg will be a lot better known after their solid work in this film that has little wrong with it and much to be recommended