Des vents contraires Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Des vents contraires Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 21, 2012

Jalil Lespert's "Des vents contraires" a.k.a "Headwinds" (2011) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios-France. The supplemental features on the disc include original theatrical trailer for the film; short featurette; promo materials; casting footage; and cast and crew interviews. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Just a memory

The film opens up with a short prologue: Sarah (Audrey Tautou, Amelie, Beautiful Lies), a medical professional, tells Paul (Benoît Magimel, The Piano Teacher, Little White Lies), a struggling writer, that she is leaving him. She cannot handle the pressure of being a mother, wife, and a woman with a career. On the next day, she disappears – without a trace.

A year later. Paul has tried to rebuild his life but has failed miserably. He has been a good father to his two children, but the pain of losing Sarah has destroyed his soul. Occasionally, he would go out to the bars alone, get drunk, and get into a fight and let strangers beat him up. It is his way of making sure that he is still alive.

Eventually, Paul’s brother (Antoine Dulery, All Girls Are Crazy), who never left their home town, offers him a job in his driving school. Rather reluctantly, Paul decides to relocate with the children and start from scratch.

The small Breton town seems like the right place for Paul. It is very quiet, peaceful, and perhaps a bit sad. After a while he regains his confidence and even attempts to write again. But his mind constantly reminds him about the beautiful moments he shared with Sarah.

A young girl (Marie-Ange Casta) approaches Paul and he tries to let himself love again, but the experience proves disappointing for him and the girl. Paul also befriends a lonely father (Ramzy Bedia, Seuls Two) with a criminal record who has been warned by his ex-wife (Lubna Azabal, Incendies) to stay as far away from their son as possible.

Based on the award winning novel by Olivier Adam, Jalil Lespert’s Headwinds is a complex film about guilt and grief. In it, both are seen as equally capable of damaging the life a man who cannot come to terms with the fact that his wife has disappeared.

The first half of the film is dedicated to Paul’s attempts to overcome the suffocating feeling that the drastic change in his life could have been avoided. He blames himself for allowing his relationship with Sarah to collapse, but eventually moves on and focuses on raising their children as best as he can.

The second half of the film is rather unusual because the guilt and anger evolve into grief and Paul begins to see the world around him differently. He becomes close with a young girl and a lonely father and the time he spends with them essentially rebalances his life. He still thinks about Sarah, but now the grief is not destructive.

Some of the relationships might seem a bit chaotic, but when one is overwhelmed with grief, one tends to connect with people differently, and occasionally open up in ways that may seem unnatural. On the other hand, Paul’s troubles - the bar fight, the trip to the beach, his fight with his brother – are all inspired by his desire to regain the type of normality his life had while Sarah was still around.

The script for the film is excellent. It is easy to tell that Lespert, himself a terrific actor (Human Resources, Le petit lieutenant), was looking for a very specific performance from Magimel, arguably one of the best young actors currently working in France. There are a number of great cameos as well, including one from the always reliable Isabelle Carre.

Des vents contraires Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jalil Lespert's Headwinds arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Universal Studios-France.

Aside from two scenes where I noticed some extremely mild banding, the high-definition transfer is virtually flawless. During close-ups detail is outstanding, while during the larger panoramic shots the depth and fluidity are some of the best I've seen on recent French discs (see screencaptures #3 and 9). Color reproduction does not disappoint either. The variety of light blues, browns, grays, and greens look lush and natural, while the blacks never appear boosted. There are no traces of problematic post-production corrections. Also, when projected the film looks sharp and notably fluid. Finally, there are no serious compressions issues to report in this review. All in all, this recent film looks quite remarkable in high-definition. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content.

Des vents contraires Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS 2.0. For the record, Universal Studios have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature.

Headwinds is not a film that is likely to test the muscles of your audio system. This being said, the lossless track is very strong, and those of you who appreciate excellent mixing will most likely be impressed by it. The sound is deep, well rounded, and notably crisp. Surround activity is very limited, but again, the sound has excellent organic qualities that make for a very pleasant viewing experience. The English translation is great.

Des vents contraires Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Film annonce - original trailer for Headwinds. In French, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• L'affiche: Recherche graphique et projects - posters and promo materials for the film (1 min, 1080p).

• Interviews de l'equipe du film - a gallery of interviews with director Jalil Lespert, writer Olivier Adam, actors Benoit Magimel, Isabelle Carre, Antoine Dulery, Ramzy Bedia, and Audrey Tautou. In French, not subtitled. (29 min, 1080/50i).

• Les essais des enfants comediens - footage from the casting sessions with the child actors. In French, not subtitled. (10 min, PAL).

• Du roman a l'ecran - a short promo piece, with raw footage from the shooting of the film and comments from writer Olivier Adan, director Jalil Lespert and actress Isabelle Carre. In French, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080/50i).

Des vents contraires Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Headwinds is a simple but effective film about a man who tries to come to terms with the fact that his wife has disappeared - while also trying to be a father, good brother, and possibly even the writer he always wanted to be. Fans of Benoit Magimel should try to see Headwinds as he is simply terrific in it. The technical presentation is enormously satisfying. RECOMMENDED.