7.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In 1980s East Germany, Barbara is a Berlin doctor banished to a country medical clinic for applying for an exit visa. Deeply unhappy with her reassignment and fearful of her co-workers as possible Stasi informants, Barbara stays aloof, especially from the good natured clinic head, Andre. Instead, Barbara snatches moments with her lover as she secretly prepares to defect one day. Despite her plans, Barbara learns more about her life that puts her desires and the people around her in a new light. With her changing perspective, Barbara finds herself facing a painful moral dilemma that forces her to choose what she values.
Starring: Nina Hoss, Ronald Zehrfeld, Rainer Bock, Christina Hecke, Jasna Fritzi BauerForeign | 100% |
Drama | 70% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
German: Dolby Digital 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Of all the films about life in East Germany—and there have been some great ones lately, including The Lives of Others and Good Bye Lenin! —2012's Barbara is probably the most austere. The film, directed by Christian Petzold, intentionally side-skirts melodrama and comes off as a cold, stern anti-thriller. At least, at first. There is emotion here eventually—along with some low-key police state thrills—but Petzold is careful to make sure the film earns it, holding back where other filmmakers might've poured on the schmaltz and artificial action. The end result is an artful, realist portrayal of work, love, and sacrifice under the oppressive GDR government.
Barbara
Barbara cycles onto Blu-ray with a 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that looks great, minus one or two minor issues. Shot on 35mm, the film retains its naturally fine grain structure here, and there are no tell-tale signs of contrast/color boosting or edge enhancement. The bare image needs no embellishment. The picture is reasonably sharp throughout, with fine textures easily visible in the characters' clothing and facial features. Occasionally, the picture is so sharp that mere 1080p has trouble resolving all of the detail. In some early scenes, for instance, the weft of Barbara's knit sweater is so crisp that a bit of moire/shimmer is introduced. When there is softness in the picture, it's clearly attributable to the film stock and lenses used— and maybe some misplaced focus—and not any defect in the transfer. However, there is perhaps a bit too much compression here; in a few darker sequences, digital noise appears amid the grain, and there are even a few quick instances of mild macroblocking. None of this is particularly noticeable, though, unless you're going out of your way to look for it.
Unfortunately, Lorber Films/Adopt Films' Blu-ray release doesn't include any lossless or uncompressed audio options, featuring only a German-language Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo track. It's worth noting that the film's German Blu-ray edition included this track only as a backup, but defaulted to a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. So, a lossless, multichannel option does exist, and we have to wonder why Adopt Films wasn't able to use it. The good news is that since the film is heavily dialogue-driven and almost entirely bereft of a musical score, there's not much here that would take advantage of the extra clarity and dynamism that a lossless mix would provide. The actors' voices are clear and clean, and there are no balancing problems whatsoever. That said, you can tell this is lossy audio, particularly in high-end sounds—like wind rustling leaves in the trees—which lack fullness and can sometimes be a little harsh. (Never distracting, but a bit brighter than you'd expect.) Of course, we're also missing the rear channel involvement we would've gotten if Adopt Films had secured the use of the 5.1 mix. Disappointing. The other odd choice here is the decision to hardcode the English subtitles, which appear in white, easy-to-read lettering.
While the German Blu-ray edition featured nearly forty-five minutes of "making-of" material, there's not a single supplement on this disc from Adopt Films. Not even a trailer. The only option on the main menu is "Play Feature."
Considering the film's premise—a doctor behind the iron curtain must chose between her freedom or the future of one of her patients—Barbara could've easily become a melodramatic mess, heavy on undeserved emotions and over-heightened action. Director Christian Petzhold has wonderful restraint, though, keeping this story gripping without resorting to cheap narrative tricks, which makes the eventual catharsis even more affecting. Few films treat life in East Germany with such subtlety and realism, so if this particular era interests you, Barbara is definitely worth checking out. Adopt Films' Blu-ray is the definition of bare boned—there are no supplements, and the only audio track is a lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 mix—but the film certainly stands on its own. Recommended.
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