Still reeling from the horror that was "Titanic", it was with great trepidation that I approached the Samuel Goldwyn Company's latest foreign import, the unfortunately named "The Chambermaid on the Titanic". Those who are put off by the title, imagining it a quickie rip-off of the inexplicably successful but terminally risible James Cameron exercise in bad filmmaking, can rest assured that this film definitely does not sink with its titular ship.

A buoyant tale with a refreshingly genuine (as opposed to cheaply manipulative) love story at its core, Bigas Luna's latest film is a modest but enjoyable confection. Foundry worker Horty (the ridiculously handsome Olivier Martinez) wins the company race, earning himself a prize to Southampton to see the Titanic set sail. Shy and aloof, he reluctantly leaves behind his wife Zoe (Romane Bohringer), fearful of losing her to his lecherous boss who's contrived to separate the couple so he can woo Zoe. In his Southampton hotel room, Horty chances upon Marie (Atiana Sanchez Gijon), a chambermaid who's due to set sail on the Titanic the following day, but who has no place to stay for the night. Honorable but cautious, Horty allows her to spend the night - exactly what happens that evening becomes the basis of legend when Horty finally heads home the next day. Angered by a promotion at the foundry he assumes Zoe bought for him with her body, he takes to drinking at the local bar, and egged on by the fellow men folk in town, Horty begins to tell a story of a torrid night of passion he spent with Marie, the chambermaid who perished on the Titanic. Soon, the usually withdrawn Horty's stories of lust and love grip the people of the neighboring towns as the disastrous maiden voyage of the ship becomes the talk around the world, bringing him out of his shell, but distancing his hurt but tenacious wife. When the couple are recruited by a traveling theater troupe to re-enact Horty's stories, they embark on a bittersweet journey where lies and deceit just may bring about their reconciliation.

Sweetly charming and overflowing with surprises, Bigas Luna makes a major departure from the kinds of films that made him so popular in his native Spain. Although an apparently sex-filled rendezvous is the backdrop against which Luna's tale plays out, he shows remarkable restraint in the bodice-ripping department, in contrast to his most acclaimed work, "Jamon Jamon". Concentrating on the key elements of lies, betrayal, love and revenge, Luna's film derives its many pleasures from its inventive script and his masterful direction. Using a man's story-telling skills to explore his inner psyche and desires, the film boldly conjures up romance and heartache all at once as Horty spins his tales which may be false in fact, but true in emotion - the question lies in whether he loves Marie, or is the inspiration for his lies his long-suffering wife? As a director, Luna handles this tricky material very well, and he manages to maintain a taut level of tension in spite of the script's inherent slow-moving qualities, injecting each scene with an air of excitement. Clocking in at a lean running time of 96 minutes, no single frame of film is wasted in telling the compelling story about how a man's love for his wife finds its manifestation in ways beyond the normal human imagination.

Luna's cast is also expertly assembled. As Horty, Olivier Martinez brings to his character an enigmatic quality that intrigues and displays a playfully palpable sense of wonder at his own achievements in telling lies. Since his debut in "IP5: The Isle of Pachyderm", Martinez has been a consistently interesting actor to watch. His work here recalls his turn in Jean Paul Rappeneau's "The Horseman on the Roof" - he's a commanding screen presence who manages to hold the audience's attention even as his character's many contradictions begin to surface. He shares a delightful chemistry with Romane Bohringer (Richard's daughter) which has the audience rooting for the couple. Bohringer is excellent as the frustrated spouse who takes increasingly outlandish steps in order to hold on to her man. Much of Zoe's conflict is internal, and it is to Bohringer's credit that all of it is plainly in view without the use of overt words nor actions. Atiana Sanchez Gijon, familiar perhaps from her appearance in Alfonso Arau's "A Walk in the Clouds" has the difficult task of, for the most part, playing a figment of someone's imagination, and she handles the many transitions the role requires well.

Together with Luna, the trio of actors concoct two love stories - one real, messy and sometimes painful, the other imaginary, perfect and just a tad dull - which will have audiences cheering by the time the film comes to its clever ending. Not at all a rip-off, but in fact a startling improvement over another film with that doomed ship in its title, "The Chambermaid of the Titanic" is one of the most pleasant cinematic surprises this year.

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