Review by Leonard Norwitz
Studio:
Theatrical: Basic Pictures
Blu-ray: MegaStar (Hong Kong)
Disc:
Region: FREE!
(as verified by the
Momitsu region FREE Blu-ray player)
Runtime: 1:50:56.000
Disc Size: 23,773,443,719 bytes
Feature Size: 22,053,378,048 bytes
Video Bitrate: 19.97 Mbps
Chapters: 20
Case: Standard Blu-ray case
Release date:
December 17th, 2009
Video:
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Resolution: 1080p / 24 fps
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio:
Dolby TrueHD Audio Chinese 2015 kbps 7.1 / 48 kHz / 2015
kbps / 16-bit (AC3 Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Dolby Digital Audio Chinese 640 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 640 kbps
Subtitles:
English, Chinese (traditional + simplified), none
Extras:
• Making of (15:00)
• Trailer
The Film:
6
Part Gaslight. Part The Big Clock. Part Kill Bill.
Detective Bong (Takeshi Kaneshiro) comes home one night to find
his girlfriend had taken her own life. It had been a
particularly grueling day at the office to start with,
culminating a few hours earlier in a bloody stroke of vengeance
on a murderous killer of hookers by his boss, "Chief" Hei (Tony
Leung Chiu-Wai). Hei goes on with his life and marries Susan (Xu
Jinglei) the daughter of a wealthy businessman. But Bong,
consumed with the seemingly unanswerable question of "why",
resigns from the force to become a second class private
detective and a first class drunk.
Bong and Hei remain friends, however, exchanging bits from their
various cases until the day when Susan's father is himself
brutally murdered. The police investigation seems to be going
nowhere and Susan asks Bong to help. By this time the audience
knows the identity of the killer, so the movie is not so much a
mystery as it is a study of unrequited remorse. In the one case,
the man is obsessed with answers; in the other, with revenge.
The two paths converge as Bong uncovers clues that take him to
unexpected places.
Excerpt of review from Twitch located HERE
I tend to agree with Peter Martin's assessment at Twitchfilm.net
when he says "Confession [of Pain] never ignites from its slow
boil. It's not a bad movie, per se, it's just kind of lumpy and
undercooked. . . Neither Tony Leung Chiu-wai nor Takeshi
Kaneshiro are able to get a handle on their characters -- also a
reflection upon the co-directors -- and both Shu Qi and Xu
Jinglei are pretty much wasted. As a whole, the movie evaporates
from memory rather quickly."
Image:
8/9
NOTE:
The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.
The first number indicates a relative level of excellence
compared to other Blu-ray video discs on a ten-point scale. The
second number places this image along the full range of DVD and
Blu-ray discs.
A generally shadowy picture that displays minor edge enhancement
in some of the brighter scenes. The occasional normally exposed
scene catches the eye with its sharpness and resolution. Despite
the darkness and barely lit shadows, noise is not in evidence,
nor is digital noise reduction. The source elements appear
pristine, as expected. There is one curiosity: the left side of
the image is cropped, or not, from scene to scene creating a
change in actual aspect ratio changes from 1:2.36 to 1:2.33. It
probably isn't enough to notice during playback, but my computer
screencaps tell the tale. I don't know if this is an error on
anyone's part at Media Asia or elsewhere, but I took a point off
on its behalf. My apologies if the cropping is intentional.
CLICK EACH
BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio & Music:
9/9
The music, as is often the case with Hong Kong crime dramas from
A-List directors and production companies, is superb, especially
in its choice of melancholic ballads. The delicacy with which
these numbers is drawn is surprising even in the context of a
well-designed audio mix such as this. Effects, foley, dialog,
surround immersion is all first class. The movie doesn't indulge
in shoot 'em ups or car chases, just the occasional eye-averting
head bashing and tearing slice with a long knife.
Operations:
6
A word about the subtitles and English translation: The
subtitles, as is usual on Blu-rays regardless of country of
origin, are rendered in a clear and easy to read font,
unobtrusively placed at the bottom of the frame. Though spelling
errors are rare, the English translation does have more than the
usual number of usage mistakes, such as the one in the screen
capture. Such mishaps interfere with our understanding of what's
going on for only a moment. MegaStar's menu design is simple and
easy to read with ready access to its various windows.
Extras:
2
Besides a trailer there is only a clearly presented
fifteen-minute making-of featurette - alas, minus English
subtitles - that we can see touches on the usual major
production points.
Bottom line:
7
Whatever you do don't read YesAsia's summary of the plot, since
it gives away a not insignificant piece of the ending. The movie
looks and sounds great on Blu-ray, but I'm not willing to urge
purchase, though I think it's worth a looksee if you can find a
copy for rent.
Leonard Norwitz
February 7th, 2010
