AN unassuming Scottish based feature located in Berwick-upon-Tweed becomes literally a matter of life and death for British director Vadim Jean in this, his third feature. A restaurant chef Sam (Gerry Butler) finds his marriage is sorely tested by the sudden arrival on the scene of his ex, Sarah (Valerie Edmond), who he is still in love with. Sarah has been in New York and announces early on that she has cancer and hasn't got long to live.

Two's company but three's a crowd for the chef's wife who is none too happy with this new arrival, particularly as her hubby then goes kite-flying and sky-diving with Sarah, who wants to live her final days to the full. For her part, Sarah wants to plan her own funeral, persuade her Dad Frank (James Cosmo) to hook up with his longlost love Shirley, and face the onset of death bravely and with good humour.

Vadim Jean neatly sidesteps mawkishness, and the need to show too much of the destructiveness of cancer, concentrating instead on showing how we should approach death. From there this is a life-affirming film, shot cleverly with a cameraman who insisted on using available light only. The result is that the director has been able to do greater justice to the acting and the script; it's likely to draw muted respect from audiences, muted only because the subject matter (terminal illness) is conventionally not one of those topics that mainstream audiences like to confront in a film. But if you're brave enough to give it a try, One More Kiss may well prove to be particularly rewarding.