Meditative and beautifully shot as it might be, Flow Mechanics is also maddening, with director Nathalie Loubeyre choosing to make high art when old-fashioned storytelling would do.

The French filmmaker attempts to turn a spotlight on refugees illegally lighting out for Europe from war-torn Africa and the Middle East. Right from the opening, when we watch Croatian border guards stand around ruminating on footprints left on a dirt country road, pacing is a problem.

Those without severe ADHD might be fine with Flow Mechanics’ decidedly laconic pace. As for the rest of us, “frustrating” doesn’t begin to describe an inarguably well-meaning film where a Libyan immigrant’s tale of a beyond-hellish boat ride to Europe is constantly interrupted by meant-for-Instagram shots of thistles waving in the wind and spiders in sunlit webs.