Bertrand Bonello gives an ambiguous yet unforgettably tense voice to the lures of terrorism in what's set to be one of the most divisive films of MIFF 2017. Watch out, because Paris is burning.

Paris is being stalked by a hidden menace. You'd never recognise them. They have no religion, no affiliation, no shared skin. But they're there, young and angry, drifting through the streets and subways hunting for weakness. And when they find it, they're going to bring the city to its knees, and drink champagne and dance until the dawn.

Enigmatic, unsettling and seething with inscrutable energy, Nocturama is the latest blazing provocation from writer/director and composer Bertrand Bonello (On War, MIFF 2008). A film of daring politics, ravishing style and sublime soundtracking – including a sequence set to Willow Smith's Whip My Hair that has to be seen to be believed – Nocturama offers up a grim fantasia of terror and excess that will stay with you for weeks.

'In every respect, Nocturama is a bravura feat of filmmaking … Bonello is using his talent to powerfully evoke belonging, liberation, and seduction in a dark vision.' – The AV Club