7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Roger is a successful movie producer with a housekeeper, Ah Tao, who has worked for his family over the course of four generations. Ah Tao has been a nanny and maid for Roger's family for nearly all her adult life, and he looks upon her as a member of the family rather than an employee. When Roger comes home one day to discover Ah Tao has suffered a severe stroke, its' clear she's no longer up to the demands of her job, and he agrees to help her relocate to a nursing home. Roger, the only member of his family still living in Hong Kong, is eager to help, but he's unsure of just how much he's supposed to do for her and is afraid to seem neglectful; Ah Tao, on the other hand, doesn't want to be a burden to Roger, and their relationship goes through an awkward period.
Starring: Andy Lau, Deannie Ip, Hailu Qin, Fuli Wang, Paul ChunForeign | 100% |
Drama | 34% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Cantonese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region B (locked)
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.5 |
Winner of Best Actress Award at the Venice Film Festival, Ann Hui's "Tao jie" a.k.a "A Simple Life" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Films. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film and standard making of featurette. In Cantonese, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".
Do not worry about me...
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Ann Hui's A Simple Life arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Arrow Films.
Shot with the Red One Camera, A Simple Life looks simply astonishing on Blu-ray. During close-ups definition and clarity are very impressive, allowing one to see even incredibly small objects and facial details (see screencapture #1). Larger panoramic shots also boast tremendous depth, both during nighttime and daylight sequences (see screencaptures #3 and 18). Color reproduction is fantastic - there are beautiful warm and very natural blues, greens, grays, and browns; the blacks are lush and stable. There are no traces of problematic lab tinkering. Compression is also very good. Purely transfer specific anomalies, such as banding and aliasing, are also nowhere to be seen. To sum it all up, this is one of the very best presentations of a contemporary Hong Kong-made film that I have seen to date. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).
There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Cantonese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Arrow Films have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.
The lossless track is excellent. Despite the fact A Simple Life is primarily a dialog-heavy feature, there is a very good range of nuanced dynamics. Law Wing-fai's soft ambient score is only occasionally felt, but the sequences where the music becomes prominent are indeed quite beautiful. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, stable, and very easy to follow. Also, there are no pops, dropouts, or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good.
The success of Ann Hui's A Simple Life at various international film festivals is well deserved. Profoundly moving and expertly directed, this is indeed one of last year's best films. If your reside in a Region-B territory, I urge you to consider adding this beautiful Blu-ray release from Arrow Films to your collections. If you reside in North America, you should look at Well Go USA's upcoming Blu-ray release (see our listing here). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
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