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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r

(aka "El misterio de la felicidad" )

 

directed by Daniel Burman
Argentina/Brazil 2014

 

For the past twenty years, successful appliance store partners Santiago (Guillermo Francella, THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES) and Eugenio (Fabián Arenillas, SON OF THE BRIDE) have share the same business, the same breakfast, and the same recreational activities six days per week. They appear to agree on turning down a good offer by a firm to buy their business (Santiago believes the buyers are more interested in exploiting their client list for a money lending business), but Eugenio fails to turn up at work the next day. Santiago tries not to worry as he goes about their routines alone until Eugenio's pill-popping wife Laura (Inés Estévez, APARTMENT ZERO) turns up not so much searching for her husband as confirming that he has indeed left and intent on assuming power of attorney and selling the business. While Laura believes Eugenio has simply walked out on them, Santiago believes something has happened to him. His secretary Elena (María Fiorentino, COMMON GROUND) refers them to private detective Mr. Oudukian (Alejandro Awada, THE AURA) who is retired but promises to advise them on their investigation for covering the check at the lavish meals they take at his favorite Turkish restaurant. At first, both Santiago and Laura seem to take perverse pleasure in finding blind spots in each other's knowledge of Eugenio (and of each other to the extent that he talked about each of them to the other). As they look into Eugenio's activities (and secret expenses), they are both dismayed by what they surmise of his dreams and aspirations: her for not appearing to feature in her husband's idea of happiness, and him for realizing that Eugenio did not share his contentment with the business. Bickering over whether or not to sell the business, both Santiago and Laura are forced to reconsider just what makes up a partnership in business and in marriage as they begin to fill in the gaps in each others lives left by Eugenio. Santiago realizes that a clue to Eugenio's whereabouts may lie in their earliest disagreement as young partners - a renunciation of a representation of happiness that they could not share - by which point Santiago and Laura are no longer sure they want to find out what happened to Eugenio.

Eric Cotenas

Posters

Theatrical Release: 16 January 2014 (Argentina)

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DVD Review: Strand Releasing - Region 1 - NTSC

 

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

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Distribution

Strand Releasing

Region 1 - NTSC

Runtime 1:38:57
Video

2.35:1 Original Aspect Ratio

16X9 enhanced
Average Bitrate: 8.16 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 Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles English, none
Features Release Information:
Studio: Strand Releasing

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1

Edition Details:
• Theatrical Trailer (16:9; 2:23)
• Strand Releasing Trailers

DVD Release Date: October 30th, 2014
Amaray

Chapters 8

 

 

 

Comments

Strand Releasing's dual-layer, high-bitrate, progressive, anamorphic encode of this lightweight but thoroughly charming comedy appears to replicate the HD cinematography with varying degrees of edge enhancment (presumably some of it baked into the master). The image isn't highly detailed, but this seems somewhat deliberate with the image favoring a warm and somewhat bleached look to the highlights. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is fairly active throughout with background city sounds and source music in the surrounds. The optional English subtitles are without any glaring errors.

The disc also features trailers for Catherine Breillat's forthcoming ABUSE OF WEAKNESS, the French romantic comedy PARIS-MANHATTAN, the stirring family drama THE AMAZING CATFISH, the character-driven THE EMPTY HOURS, and the hillarious intellectual comedy BICYCLING WITH MOLIERE.

  - Eric Cotenas

 


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DVD Box Cover

CLICK to order from:

 

 

Distribution

Strand Releasing

Region 1 - NTSC

 




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