A crimson hot air balloon touches down for a brief moment in a pastoral field. It's obvious the navigators are having trouble grounding the vessel.

A handful of passersby rush to the rescue, throwing their weight on the balloon's basket. But a gust of wind dashes the attempt, and the balloon begins to rise. When it's about 10 feet in the air, the rescuers drop to the ground.

All except one.

One man holds on. We see him dangling from a rope as the balloon enters the stratosphere. We see him as his grip fails. He lets go.

The events of one lazy day on the English countryside become the tragic story of "Enduring Love" - a film nominated for four British Independent Film Awards.

Daniel Craig stars as Joe, an uptight college professor with cynical notions of love. He's having a picnic with his sculptor girlfriend Claire (Samantha Morton) when the balloon touches down.

The film is really about how fate brings people together. Each character is left to question why they had to be in that field at that time. They must determine who let go of the basket first as it drifted into the sky. They must figure out how to handle this moral burden they now all share.

It's as difficult to categorize "Enduring Love" as it is to pigeonhole its director, Roger Michell. He's directed films ranging from the thriller "Changing Lanes" to the romantic comedy "Notting Hill."

"Enduring Love" falls somewhere in between those two genres. It has intense moments of suspense, constant drama and both traditional and unconventional love stories.

It's an astounding peaceful film for the most part, especially considering its cryptic subject matter. Even as we watch the doomed man dangle below the red balloon, it's an oddly beautiful sight. Michell constructs all of his frames with care, either leaving them open and unmarred like the balloon scenes or strategically boxing them in with architectural elements.

"Enduring Love" is a finely crafted film that uses superb acting and a thoughtful plot to make us question fate.