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Things to Come aka "L'avenir" [Blu-ray]
(Mia Hansen Love, 2016)
Review by Gary Tooze
Production: Theatrical: CG Cinéma Video: MPI Home Video
Disc: Region: 'A' (as verified by the Oppo Blu-ray player) Runtime: 1:41:47.810 Disc Size: 24,592,384,002 bytes Feature Size: 23,112,403,776 bytes Video Bitrate: 22.59 Mbps Chapters: 12 Case: Standard Blu-ray case Release date: May 9th, 2017
Video: Aspect ratio: 1.85:1 Resolution: 1080p / 23.976 fps Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio French 3615 kbps 5.1 / 48 kHz / 3615 kbps / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48 kHz / 1509 kbps / 24-bit) LPCM Audio French 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
Subtitles: English (SDH), English, Spanish, none
Extras: • Trailer (2:06)
Bitrate:
Description: What happens when the life you ve worked so hard to build falls apart all at once? Nathalie (Isabelle Huppert, in a radiant performance) is a philosophy teacher with a seemingly settled existence, juggling a rich life of the mind with the day-to-day demands of career and family (including frequent visits to her drama queen mother, played by the legendary Édith Scob). But beginning with the bombshell revelation that her husband of twenty-five years is leaving her, one by one the pillars of Nathalie s life start to crumble. For the first time in ages, she finds herself adrift, but also with a newfound sense of liberation. With nothing to hold her back, Nathalie sets out to define this new phase of her life and to rediscover herself. Winner of the Best Director award at the 2016 Berlin International Film Festival, the new film from Mia Hansen-Lřve (Eden) is an uncommonly intelligent, soul-searching look at what it means to create a life of one's own.
The Film: A fiftysomething leftist philosophy professor (Isabelle Huppert) is propelled into a midlife crisis after being squeezed between caring for her deteriorating mother (Edith Scob) and learning that her husband (André Marcon) wants to end their marriage. The blow of confronting her own mortality is cushioned by her friendship with a younger former student (Roman Kolinka), whose invitation to visit his anarchist commune in the countryside allows her a chance to remember the more radical and less burdened person she once was. Excerpt from B+N located HEREIn her previous two features Hansen-Lřve captured the uncertainty of youth with a deeply sympathetic authenticity, so it’s enlivening to see a character of middle age depicted with the same vitality. Huppert stomps around Paris, marches up and down the beach in Brittany and wanders the Vercors countryside with, by turns, purpose, exasperation and listlessness. In each locale director of photography Denis Lenoir seemingly effortlessly captures Huppert’s embodiment of Nathalie’s self-confidence, his fluid camera tracking her every turn, creating the space for her internal life to become visible. References to Nathalie’s formative years, and to the life she always thought she would have with Heinz, convey the journey she has already taken to become the self-actualised character Huppert so convincingly portrays. Excerpt from BFI located HERE
Image : NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc. Things To Come looks pretty solid on Blu-ray from MPI. The image shows bright, colors and decent detail in close-ups. This is on a single-layered disc with supportive contrast and pleasing depth. Really, there are no flaws in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio visuals. I expect this Blu-ray is an excellent replication of the theatrical appearance.
CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION
Audio :We get the option of a surround DTS-HD Master 5.1 at 3615 kbps or you can opt for the 2.0 channel linear PCM - both in the original French-language. It is almost an entirely dialogue-driven film, some park, ocean and waterfall sounds - but they are minor and the 24-bit tracks easily handle the film's requirements. There is some music (no credited score) but Franz Schubert's Auf dem Wasser zu Singen, plus some nostalgic Woody Guthrie, The Fleetwoods (Unchained Melody) and Donovan. There are optional subtitles on the region 'A' Blu-ray disc.
Extras : Only a trailer, where an interview with Huppert or a commentary would have been appreciated.
BOTTOM LINE: Gary Tooze May 3rd, 2017
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About the Reviewer: Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500 DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my discussion Listserv for furthering my film education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver. Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our Amazon links.
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