Hans treks across the Austrian countryside on foot to cross the boundary that, up until 2004, separated Eastern and Western Europe. Ten years earlier, Hans and Jana lived in the area, smuggling illegals into the West. When young Viennese soldier Ronny shows up, all the ingredients are there for a Western with overtones of Greek tragedy. Minimalist and ambiguous, Crossing Boundaries is about borders, geographical and internal, and what happens when we transgress them. In the makeup of the main trio (rough-hewn hero, unlikely vamp and seduc- tive stranger) the precise framing (at times luminous, at times chiaroscuro) and the atmospheric soundtrack, Crossing Boundaries recalls Days of Heaven. Also common with the Malick film are its subdued violence and the omnipresence of supreme nature, indifferent to the tumult of human passion. Flicker’s talent lies in the dextrous balance between what he shows and what he hides, what he says and what he leaves unsaid. Spellbinding.