Like me at a dinner party, I can seem interesting for a long time but then I blow it in the end.

Freaks Out is an ambitious Italian film set in World War II Italy in which a group of circus freaks sets out to save their Jewish manager from a 6-fingered German officer with the gift of clairvoyance.

I love a lot of things about this movie. The directing is sharp, the sets are breathtaking, the cinematography is superb, plus there's the stunning piano version of Creep played by the man who takes drug trips to the future, not to mention the Wizard of Oz vibe with a trio of lost men being led by a young girl in braids and the army of misfit boys that consists solely of broken men with more heart than anything else... The acting is on point: especially young Aurora Giovinazzo who is electrifying in the lead role and German demi-God Franz Robowski (Great Freedom, Undine, Victoria) who throws himself into the part of the bad guy without reserve.

The first two acts are tight like a Lamborghini on the edge of a mountain curve, but in the 3rd act the film hits all of the various plot lines and spins of control, going over the edge in a blur and exploding in a chaotic mess. But at least it explodes, and doesn't burn out quickly like a birthday candle.

The film is a solid 7/10 that I'm giving an 8 because of how hard it goes, what it strives to reach and how it haunts me like a luxurious ghost days after having seen it.

Strangely stylish and inexplicably sentimental, with a humanist vibe. That's the feeling Freaks Out left me with.

There's a really nostalgic feel to this film. It captures a fading world of colourful carnivals and the dubiously named, freak shows, under threat from a Fascist ideology that rejects anyone who is "different".

Its underlying message is one of tolerance, forgiveness and acceptance, tempered by the need to protect the vulnerable from persecution.

Special effects are superb, the story's suitably off beat and affectionately zany and the action is polished.

An eccentric super hero tale, that's definitely worth a look.