Both Sides of the Blade Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Both Sides of the Blade Blu-ray Movie Review

"...when you love someone it never really goes away." Sara (Juliette Binoche)

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson May 22, 2024

The above line spoken by Sara to her significant other Jean (Vincent Lindon) in Both Sides of the Blade (2022) gets to the heart of the film's love triangle. The English title for the American release comes from an eponymous ballad Tindersticks composed for the movie and soundtrack album. The original French title is Feu, ou Avec amour et acharnement, which translates as Fire, or with Love and Fury. The film is based on Christine Angot's 2018 novel Un tournant de la vie. Angot co-wrote the scenario with director Claire Denis.

The film opens with Jean and Sara swimming together in an ocean on an unknown island. The getaway will be their only respite from the problems they'll face with each other, the man who comes between them, and Jean's family. Jean and Sara have been a couple for a combined ten years before and after Jean's incarceration. Jean served time in prison for a decade over an unspecified crime. Sara and Jean live together in a pretty posh Parisian apartment. She hosts a current affairs program on Radio France Internationale. When Sara notices a man on a motorbike, she recognizes him as François (Grégoire Colin), a former lover of Sara's. François is with his new girlfriend, Lola (Lola Créton), and it isn't clear if he also sees Sara. Her sighting of François rekindles old romantic feelings.

François and Jean know each other from their time as teammates on a rugby team. They were also business partners before Jean went to prison. François contacts Jean to ask if he wants to become a rugby talent scout for a sports management firm that he's starting. Jean has been struggling to find steady work so he can't resist the offer.

While Jean was serving time, his mother Nelly (Bulle Ogier) received custody to look after Jean's now 15-year-old son, Marcus (Issa Perica), in the suburb of Vitry. (Jean's first wife returned to her native Martinique without Marcus when his prison term began.) Marcus is following in his father's criminal ways as a petty thief. He has used Nelly's bank card without her permission. Marcus is estranged from Jean and doesn't want to see him when he makes a long trek to Nelly's home.

Jean and Sara swim in the ocean.

Denis and Angot don't connect the plot threads that well or develop them enough. The romantic relationship between Jean and Sara is underwritten and this is likely on purpose by Denis. She generally prefers her characters to convey meaning through looks, glances, and gestures rather than exchange lots of dialogue. Those nonverbal cues are present here but it's not very apparent why Jean and Sara love each other. Aside from physical attraction, what are their shared likes and interests? What connected them in the first place? Sara previously loved François but the problem in the narrative arc is he doesn't reenter the film until about the midway point. Sara is probably attracted to his handsome features but there's a dark and devious side to François. Sara's romantic impulses for both men cater to certain selfish interests for total amorous fulfillment she can't achieve with one of them. Binoche does a fine job of portraying Sara as a flawed and conflicted character.

I am in the minority of other critics and reviewers of Both Sides of the Blade in that I view the subplot with Jean, Marcus, and Nelly as one of the picture's stronger parts. Jean's time in prison, his partnership with Sara, and his business venture with François have taken a toll on his son and mother because he's been away so often. There's a strong scene between Jean and Marcus where the two discuss racial discrimination. (Marcus is of mixed race. His mother is Black.) Jean wants his son to finish high school and have a career. Marcus wants to drop out and attend a vocational school so he can learn a craft. The younger actor Issa Perica is very good here. The film could have perhaps benefited from more scenes between him and Vincent Lindon.

Both Sides of the Blade climaxes with a shouting match between Jean and Sara that's reminiscent of male-female clashes in Ingmar Bergman's films. Cinematographer Éric Gauthier photographs the close-ups much like Sven Nykvist would for Bergman, but the difference here is that there's more handheld camera work, which is jittery and off-centered. These unstable shots add to the messiness of Jean and Sara's verbal spats.

Both Sides of the Blade Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

IFC Films' release of Both Sides of the Blade comes on this MPEG-4 AVC-encoded BD-25. The movie appears in its original theatrical aspect ratio of about 2.39:1. Director of photography Éric Gauthier shot the picture on a Sony F65 camera. The transfer has a soft appearance that's frequented by whites, grays, and blacks. The opening scene is one of the few to have any sunlight. The film was shot primarily under overcast conditions or at night. Facial details are reasonably clear and sharp. The transfer likely would been noticeably better had IFC given it a stronger and healthier encode. The movie runs nearly two hours and yet only boasts a rough average video bitrate of 20990 kbps. Check out how noisy the inside of the Metro de Paris' tunnel looks in Screenshot #20.

Only eight chapter breaks accompany the 116-minute film. Please note that these can only be accessed through remote control since IFC doesn't provide a scene selection option.

Both Sides of the Blade Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

IFC has supplied a French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround mix (3004 kbps, 24-bit). Since Both Sides of the Blade is a dialogue-heavy film, this is a front-centered track. Spoken words are crisp, clear, and intelligible. The only surround activity I picked out during my two viewings was street ambience of vehicles and motorists zipping by. The original score is by Denis regulars Stuart Staples and his English band Tindersticks. The music is both contemplative and elegiac. The main theme features guitar, other strings, and piano. It reminds me of Cyril Morin's work (sans the piano) for Pan Nalin's films. (Listen especially to Morin's score to the great 2001 film Samsara, which is about a Tibetan monk in the Himalayas. Find the movie if you can.)

The optional English subtitles are clear and readable.

Both Sides of the Blade Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Aside from three IFC trailers, there are no extras on this disc.

Both Sides of the Blade Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Both Sides of the Blade is a good solid drama from Claire Denis. It doesn't approach her best work, though. The script doesn't sufficiently probe the character backgrounds of Sara, Jean, and François. The dialogue exchanged between them is sometimes heated but it doesn't add a lot of depth. IFC Films employs a poor encode for the video transfer, although the image looks reasonably good considering the compression. The DTS-HD MA 5.1 is noticeably better but doesn't have many sound f/x to open up the surround channels. There are no bonus materials. RECOMMENDED to fans of Denis and Binoche.