Veering into art house territory on occasion, Mario Gariazzo’s Lasciapassare per il morto (US: Passport for a Corpse) digs into the psychological caverns of its protagonist Maurizio (Alberto Lupo), whose mind is his only companion as he’s forced to cross national borders inside a coffin. Having just pulled a bank van heist with a partner who was killed in the shootout, Maurizio aims to escape across the mountainous French border and meet up with his girlfriend Hélène (Hélène Chanel). What Maurizio hadn’t planned is that his opportunity at the border would arrive in a hearse: when the coffin’s removed for inspection at border patrol and left temporarily unattended, Maurizio disposes of the corpse and takes its place. While his transport appears to be a success, his final destination, of course, is a freezing morgue in which he’ll be trapped indefinitely and haunted by strange images and sounds. The cold of the morgue, however, is nothing compared to the snow-blanketed, wind-whipped mountain range in which he’ll find himself next. The film is as thrilling as it is unusual: as Maurizio seems to lose his grasp on reality, we become disoriented right along with him until the final shots of heavenly slumber. Aside from a peppy, contemporary song at the start, the score is eerie and harrowing, minimal and ambient, like experimentation with the lowest keys on a piano.