Cannibal - Olimpia Melinte

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

(aka "Caníbal" or "Amours cannibales")

directed by Manuel Martín Cuenca
Spain/Romania/Russia/France 2013

Carlos Marquez (Antonio de la Torre, VOLVER), an esteemed tailor in Granada, leads a solitary life between his shop, his apartment, and occasional trips to his mountain cabin to butcher beautiful women to replenish his icebox. He is pushed into an uncertain friendship with his pretty, forward neighbor Alexandra (Olimpia Melinte, BUCARESTI NON STOP), a Romanian masseuse and likely prostitute in need of fast money, but he is reluctant to involve himself in her problems when she asks for help. When Alexandra disappears, her sister Nina (also Melinte) arrives in search of her. Although Carlos is even more reluctant to get involved lest he incriminate himself, he finds himself drawn to the troubled young woman who comes under suspicion for her sister's disappearance herself; but is he in falling in love (possibly for the first time) or lining up his next meal?

A cool, deliberately paced and plotted character study, CANNIBAL subtly adds layers to its withdrawn and initially unfeeling protagonist (superbly rendered by de la Torre). Melinte's characterizations are etched just as ambiguously, but the actress manages to convey the distinctions between her characters that extend beyond her hair color, making the dual role choice seem less like a hommage to Hitchcock as the film's REAR WINDOW-isms (although it pays to examine the view outside Carlos' shop window which surveys the exterior of his apartment building across the way). Although there are no overt signs that Carlos's POV is unreliable, the idea that some or all of the story may be the imaginings of a lonely man whose only other acquaintance - seamstress Aurora (María Alfonsa Rosso, SOLAS) states without elaboration that he could never be with a woman.

Eric Cotenas

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Theatrical Release: 25 July 2014 (USA)

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DVD Review: Film Movement - Region 1 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Film Movement Region 1 - NTSC
Runtime	1:57:12
Video	2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 6.73 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	Spanish/Romanian Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish/Romanian Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	English, English (CC), none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Film Movement Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1 Edition Details: • Biographies • Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 1:10) • Short Film 'Ogre' by Jean-Charles Paugam (16:9; 13:48) • Film Movement Trailers: • 'For a Woman', 'Grisgris', 'The Auction', 'The King of Devil's Island', 'Noise', and 'Gigante' DVD Release Date: October 21st 2014 Amaray Chapters 12

Comments

Film Movement's dual-layer DVD features a progressive, anamorphic encode of this Arri Alexa-photographed 2K-mastered production looks rather flat despite the use of an anamorphic attachment that causes the sort of bowed lines one saw with older Panavision lenses on wide angles. Edge enhancement is less evident in the low-key lit shots. The Spanish track is available in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks. The 2.0 is perfectly serviceable, but the 5.1 lends some depth to the environments (especially once the routine of the protagonist is established and we distinguish normal sounds and unexpected ones). The disc offers both optional English subtitles and closed-captioning that covers all of the dialogue (including some English dialogue in one scene) as well as sound effect and music notations. The presentation opens with a logo for RAM Releasing which suggests the title might have originally been intended for Film Movement's sister label.

Besides text biographies and the film's trailer, the disc also includes the short "Ogre" which is about another, less suave social misfit of a sort. Trailers for other Film Movement titles round out the extras (three of the six also appear as start-up trailers). The inside of the cover includes a statement from the director and one from Film Movement on why they chose the title.

- Eric Cotenas

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