6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Ensconced in a sprawling rental villa, the world-weary Vera Baxter receives visits from two women, including a mysterious stranger to whom she recounts a shocking story about her marriage, the way she lives, and the reasons for her malaise.
Director: Marguerite DurasForeign | 100% |
Drama | 77% |
Music | 1% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 2.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 2.5 |
Marguerite Duras dabbled in countless artistic endeavors during a writing and filmmaking career that lasted more than four decades, but is perhaps best known for writing the screenplay to Alan Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour and for her autobiographical novel The Lover, which was adapted into a 1992 film directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. Her own films are a different beast: static and slow-moving, they prioritize experimental imagery over plot and dialogue, which is a diplomatic way of saying they're often as fun as watching paint dry. A pair of her mid-1970s films, India Song and Baxter, Vera Baxter, are available from Criterion in the forthcoming set Two Films by Marguerite Duras.
Though sporadically interesting with beautiful shots of then-modern architecture and the surrounding landscapes, its much more pretentious style
(and that music!) makes Baxter, Vera Baxter a tepid and frustrating affair. It feels like an even longer film than India
Song, even at just 95 minutes, and is for die-hard fans of the director only.
For my thoughts on this Blu-ray's 1080p transfer, which is sourced from a recent 2K restoration that includes new color grading, please read my review of Two Films by Marguerite Duras.
For my thoughts on this Blu-ray's LPCM mono track, please read my review of Two Films by Marguerite Duras.
As part of Two Films by Marguerite Duras, Baxter, Vera Baxter includes these extras on the movie disc:
Baxter, Vera Baxter is an experimental film by Marguerite Duras and, though not entirely dissimilar to her earlier India Song, is less engaging due to its inert narrative, too many slow panning shots, and irritating music that feels repetitive long before the credits roll. It's clearly the lesser half of Criterion's Two Films by Marguerite Duras, but the included extras -- especially the long-form 2002 documentary Marguerite as She Was -- add broader appeal to this disc.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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