Blue Bayou Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		3.5

Blue Bayou Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson March 16, 2022

Blue Bayou begins with the voice of a potential employer (heard off-screen) asking Antonio LeBlanc (Justin Chon) where he hails from. When Antonio responds that he comes from a section of Louisiana, the interviewer clarifies his question so it concerns Antonio's birthplace. Antonio replies with "Korea." This and the fact that Antonio states he stole motorcycles (albeit many years ago) seals his fate for a prospective job as a mechanic. The man tells Antonio that he's unable to hire him. This opening scene portends how the film will view race and immigration throughout the narrative. Antonio emigrated from South Korea to America when he was three and lived with a foster-care family for awhile. He currently works at a tattoo parlor and is married to Kathy (Alicia Vikander), a physical therapist. Kathy has a 7-year-old daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske) with her ex-husband Ace (Mark O’Brien), a New Orleans Police Department officer. Kathy is expecting her first child with Antonio, who's grown very close to Jessie. Antonio decides that his stepdaughter will play hokey from school one day so he takes her on a motorcycle ride and a bonding excursion by the wetlands. Jessie is very concerned that her stepfather will de-prioritize her once he has a child of his own but Antonio tries to reassure her that she'll still come first. When Kathy, Antonio, and Jessie take a trip to the supermarket, they have a mild disagreement over something in one of the aisles. Ace and his partner, Denny (Emory Cohen), are also shopping in the store and overhear the argument. Denny grabs Antonio and pulls him down.

After Antonio is arrested and booked, it's discovered that there either were some errors on his original immigration papers or the forms were improperly filed. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notifies Antonio that he faces only two options: (1) To avoid deportation, he can fly back to Korea on his own; or (2) He can attend a hearing and appeal the deportation order. But if he loses, he'll never be able to return to the US again. Attorney Barry Boucher (Vondie Curtis-Hall) explains to Antonio and his wife that some loopholes existed on the 2001 immigration policy which forced adoptees in the prior century to return to their original homelands. Antonio is flabbergasted that more can't be done to ensure that he'll be able to remain with his family. Boucher says that he has few options. Because this lawyer commands a $5,000 retainer fee, Antonio realizes he needs to get more money. Quentin (Altonio Jackson) and some of Antonio's friends from the parlor decide to steal some motorcycles which they'll sell on the black market. Will Antonio participate in the heist?

As Antonio goes through his ordeal, he meets and gets to know a kindhearted Vietnamese-American woman named Parker Nguyen (Linh Đan Pham). She's always wanted to receive a fleur-de-lis tattoo and Antonio accommodates her. Parker invites Antonio and Kathy over for a summer party where Antonio sees firsthand what it's like to be amongst an Asian-American family. But Antonio's family situation begins to crumble. He struggles with his finances and starts having marital problems. Dawn Landry (Geraldine Singer), Kathy's mother, has never really cared for her son-in-law. They haven't been on speaking terms and Dawn asks her daughter if she'd like to move in with her. Furthermore, Ace is seeking custody of Jessie in spite of not being involved with her in recent years. Time is running out for Antonio. Can his American mother, Susanne (Susan McPhail), attend his hearing and serve as one of his voices of support? Can Antonio's friend Merk (Toby Vitrano), who works for ICE, help get him out of his immigration quagmire?

Blue Bayou is often poetic and beautifully shot by cinematographers Ante Cheng and Matthew Chuang. The performances by the two leads are quite remarkable. But it's also an overcooked melodrama. Ace's friend Denny is a stereotypical racist cop who's there only to drive the plot forwards or backwards. Parker is a good friend to Antonio but writer/director Justin Chon tacks on a subplot solely for the effect of pathos. The movie's climax is overlaid with a deluge of emotions. I also thought that logically speaking, the film could have gone in a better direction. Blue Bayou has its heart in the right place but Chon tugs far too much on the audience's heartstrings.

Blue Bayou Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Blue Bayou has arrived on US Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-50 (disc size: 43.58 GB). Chon's third feature as a director played on the festival circuit and also had a brief theatrical run. Katie Walsh of the Tribune News Service saw a theatrical print and has commented on its aesthetics: "Blue Bayou was filmed on 16mm, which has become one of Chon's auteurist hallmarks, creating for a grainy, tactile and textured immediacy of the image. It beautifully captures the location." The picture is presented in its native 1.66:1 and mostly looks the way Walsh describes it on this HD transfer. Her last remark definitely applies to the compositions of the Crescent City Connection crossing the Mississippi (see Screenshot #s 5 and 16). The general problem with this transfer, however, is that it's taken from a pretty worn theatrical print that wasn't completely cleaned up. There are occasional, though not frequent, white specks. In addition, there's a scene in the lawyer's office where the camera fixates on Antonio and you can see light scratches over him. I'm talking about the shot that's held on him in frame grab #17, although you can't see the scratches where I've captured it. Chon wasn't all thus fussy about what surrounded the film gate because you'll notice "hairs" at the bottom of the gate in Screenshot #s 18-19! You can also spot small slivers of celluloid that stick out of the gate in at least a few other scenes. Universal has encoded the feature at a mean video bitrate of 36853 kbps. My video score is 3.75/5.00.

Universal has provided twenty chapters for the 117-minute film.

Blue Bayou Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Universal has supplied a English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround (3760 kbps, 24-bit), a lossy DTS Audio 5.1 Surround dubbed in Spanish (768 kbps, 24-bit), and a lossy DTS Audio 5.1 Surround dubbed in French (768 kbps, 24-bit). The uncompressed 5.1 (English) mix is a pretty large step up from the image quality. A majority of the dialogue is delivered in English and it's almost always clear and audible. There's some words spoken in Vietnamese, which have imposed English subtitles (see Screenshot #20). The satellite speakers do an excellent job of picking up New Orleans street sounds and the natural ambience of the bayou. Motorcycle/car noises, thunder, raindrops, insect and critter sounds are delivered with nice separation along the rears. Composer Roger Suen's score acts as a a subtle backdrop and fine complement to the film.

Universal delivers optional English SDH, Spanish, and French subtitles for the main feature.

Blue Bayou Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of Blue Bayou (5:15, 1080p) - an all-too-brief featurette featuring interview snippets with writer/director/producer/star Justin Chon, co-star Alicia Vikander, actor Mark O'Brien, actress Linh Đan Pham, producer Poppy Hanks, co-producer Greta Fuentes, producer Kim Roth, and producer Charles D. King. All interviewees speak in English with optional English, Spanish, or French subtitles available for this piece.

• Deleted Scenes (6:52, 1080p) - five scenes omitted from the final cut: "ICE Raid on Parker's Last Day," "Parker at the Overpass," "Merk Asks About a Friend," "Antonio and Q at the Bar," and "Kathy Goes to See Ace." They're presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen with Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (192 kbps). They can be viewed with optional English, Spanish, or French subtitles.

• Previews - some bonus trailers for other Focus Features titles that load before Blue Bayou's menu. They can't be selected or accessed from the menu.

Blue Bayou Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Blue Bayou is sumptuously photographed but it's also an overwrought melodrama, which occasionally undercuts its anti-racist message and commentary on immigration policies. I always enjoy seeing Alicia Vikander on screen but she's certainly appeared in better films than this. Universal delivers a recycled theatrical print that hasn't been given the upmost care for this Blu-ray transfer. The picture remains watchable, though. The studio fares much better with its lossless audio presentation. The only extras are a five-minute promotional featurette and a handful of deleted scenes. A MODERATE RECOMMENDATION for this BD-50 of Blue Bayou.