Ana Moreira and Carloto Cotta in "Tabu."

Credit: Adopt Films

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We're not quite past the first quarter yet, but I feel comfortable saying that if December arrives and Miguel Gomes's "Tabu" isn't on my Top 10 of 2012 list, we have one hell of a year ahead of us. This Portuguese black-and-white marvel was, as I rather gushingly wrote back in February, the highlight of an unexpectedly strong Berlin Film Festival, where it won the Alfred Bauer Prize for Innovation. It stands comfortably as my favorite film of the year so far, which sounds like fainter praise than it is.

Earlier this week, a Portuguese trailer surfaced -- and while the absence of subtitles might leave you a little confused, the glimpses of its swoony imagery and soundtrack should hopefully give you some idea of why I'm so besotted with the film. To be honest, even with subtitles, chances are you wouldn't be much the wiser as to what's going on in this enigmatic fusion of contemporary absurdist comedy and luscious period romance -- though you would have a clearer sense of how rhythmically and poetically written it is atop its more immediate sensual delights.

At the time I wrote my review, "Tabu" was still seeking a U.S. distributor: happily, this distinct niche item has since found a home with a relatively new kid on the block, the aptly named Adopt Films. Needless to say, this won't be coming soon to a theater near you: they're reportedly planning a late-December release in New York in LA, before taking it to other cities in 2013.

I assure you it's worth the wait. In the meantime, enjoy the tease. (Thanks to Stale Popcorn blogger Glenn Dunks for finding the trailer.)

For more views on movies, awards season and other pursuits, follow @GuyLodge on Twitter. 

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Guy Lodge
Critic

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Guy Lodge is a South African-born critic and sometime screenwriter. In addition to his work at In Contention, he is a freelance contributor to Variety, Time Out, Empire and The Guardian. He lives well beyond his means in London.