Blu-ray Movie Reviews

A village in Protestant northern Germany. 1913-1914. On the eve of World War I. The story of the children and teenagers of a choir run by the village schoolteacher, and their families: the baron, the steward, the pastor, the doctor, the midwife, the tenant farmers. Strange accidents occur and gradually take on the character of a punishment ritual. Who is behind it all.

Michael Haneke never makes what I would call a traditional film. But every one of the films I’ve seen from him has resonated. This one is different in its approach, but the film has a very steady build that is hard to ignore. Unfortunately the ending was a HUGE letdown for me and not nearly as satisfying as what I’ve seen from his other films. This is a beautifully shot film and the story is definitely intriguing, though slow and methodical, I just can’t help but feel like too much was unanswered in the end.

This film garnished numerous awards for its cinematography. The photography is quite good with a subtle poise that really adds to the underlying mood of the film. It is shot completely in black and white and manages an outstanding level of contrast. Detail is also quite good and dimension never falls short. This is one of the first films that compression has been an issue though. There are times when the image has a stillness that is obviously due to the compression involved. Film grain is present throughout and at times quite noticeable but still images look rather fake simply because of the lack of grain that is so consistent everywhere else. The film’s soundtrack is presented in the original German dub with English subtitles. I noticed that the other languages in the film, Polish and Italian, are not subtitled, so there are some moments when you don’t know what is being said. This only happens a couple times, but it was distracting given that this is a very dialogue heavy film. The score is quite fitting and lends to the mood and overall ambiance is solid.

Extras include a behind the scenes look at how the photographers managed to get their shots plus some deleted scenes.

This one didn’t live up to my expectations. I love the process, but ultimately I couldn’t help but feel frustrated with the conclusion. Sony has done a good job with the presentation, but I was disappointed with the obvious compression issues. I would suggest a rental before a purchase.