Acasa, My Home Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

Acasa, My Home Blu-ray Movie Review

A must-see documentary production.

Acasa, My Home is a compelling documentary production exploring a family on the edge of the wilderness. Executive produced by director Radu Ciorniciuc and co-executive producer Hanka Kastelicova, the film is an award-winning journey across the outdoors of Romania. A must- see documentary.

The documentary focuses on the journey of the Enache family as they live together in the outdoor wilderness of the Bucharest Delta over a span of two decades. The Enache parents and their nine children live around a water reservoir, sleep in a small hut, and catch fish with their bare hands for meals. Eventually, the Enache family must learn to adapt to moving to the city and living in a brand new environment of cell phones, school, and laid-back afternoons. A story of a Romanian family that went from the wilderness to adapting to the changing times in society.

The music score composed by Gaute, Codrin Lazar, and Yari is one of the most compelling elements of the production. The music adds a nice backdrop to the filmmaking. The music helps enhance the film and the storytelling. The documentary feels more envigorating as a result. The efforts made here are commendable.

The journey of the Enache family.

The cinematography by Radu Ciorniciuc and Mircea Topoleanu impresses in spades. Winning the Special Jury Prize for Cinematography at the Sundance Film Festival, the award-winning visuals certainly help to expand the scope of the filmmaking. The footage appears raw in many different respects but the cinematographic style is beautifully composed (with many shots being quite compelling and artistic). The cinematography ultimately gives the documentary a poetry-like style. A quality effort by Ciorniciuc and Topoleanu.

Acasa, My Home is well-edited by Andrei Gorgan. The documentary pulled together footage from a big time span and the filmmaking excels with the exceptional editorial skills on display. The pace is quite effective and never seems to drag on unnecessarily. The film has a poetic style that the editing truly reflects.

Radu Ciorniciuc directs the documentary with a unique sensibility that seems perfect for the material being explored. The filmmaking is compelling throughout. Documentary film fans will be enormously enthused to experience such a well-crafted tale about a family living on the cusp of modern civilization. The direction conveys the journey of the Enache family with a wonderful sense of pathos. Bravado.

Acasa, My Home Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber, Acasa, My Home is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. The presentation quality is inconsistent throughout the entire transfer. Despite being in high definition, there are sequences that showcase some slight imperfections during the transfer. There are moments of macroblocking (on rare occasion).

Low-light level scenes often have a haziness to them and lack the kind of finesse of a bigger-budget production. Black levels are average at best. There is also a scene which looks to have been filmed in standard-definition. However, most of these video-quality issues are source-related and it doesn't reflect a poor effort from Kino Lorber. It's simply the result of the film being a smaller-budget documentary production.

Acasa, My Home Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: Romanian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound and Romanian DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo. The lossless audio is impressive for a documentary production. The surround sound track is reasonably engaging. The presentation adds some subtle ambiance to the film. Though the track is never overly bombastic it ultimately adds a great deal to the experience. Dialogue is at the front-and-center of the presentation. Crisp, clear, and easy to understand, the vocals sound terrific on the release.

Optional subtitles in English and French. The English subtitles were effective and free from any glaring spelling or grammatical errors.

Acasa, My Home Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Deleted Scenes (HD, 11:54)

Acasa, My Home Trailer (HD, 2:13)

M.C. Escher: Journey to Infinity Trailer (HD, 2:17)

Acasa, My Home Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Acasa, My Home is a remarkably engaging documentary. The award-winning feature-film explores the odyssey of the Enache family: the parents (and their nine children) live in the outdoors around the Bucharest Delta for two decades before joining modern society and adapting to changing times. Presented on Blu-ray by Kino Lorber and Zeitgeist Films, Acasa, My Home is a must-see film. Highly recommended.