Die Fremde Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Die Fremde Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 10, 2011

Selected to represent Germany in the Foreign Language Film Category for the 83rd Annual Academy Awards, Feo Aladag's "Die Fremde" a.k.a "When We Leave" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox. The supplemental features on the disc include deleted scenes; gallery of stills; interviews with director Feo Aladag and actress Sibel Kekilli; footage from Deutscher Filmpreis 2010; and the film's original theatrical trailer. In Turkish and German, with optional English, German, and German SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

You have to make a decision

Debut writer-director Feo Aladag’s When We Leave begins with the end - a scene that suggests a great tragedy. The people we see look jaded, their eyes revealing more than they could with simple words. Then the camera slowly pulls back and they disappear.

Istanbul, Turkey. After years of abuse, German-born Umay (Sibel Kekilli, Head-On), a 25-year old mother, who has secretly had an abortion, leaves her abusive husband, Kemal (Ufuk Bayraktar), and returns home together with her son, Cem (Nazim Schiller). At first her family greets her with open arms, but after they realize what she has done they point a finger at her -- a good woman must obey and learn to live with her husband. But Umay has had enough.

Completely ignoring her attempts to explain what prompted her to return home, Umay’s father, Kader (Settar Tanriögen), phones Kemal and assures him that his wife will be back soon. But Umay openly confronts him and makes it perfectly clear that her decision to leave Kemal is final. Older brother Mehmet (Tamer Yigit) immediately reminds his sister that the family’s honor is a lot more important than her freedom. Younger brother Acar (Serhad Can) and mother Halime (Derya Alabora) remain silent.

Time passes by and Umay is forced by her father to choose between freedom and her family. She does, and immediately unleashes a string of tragic events.

Inspired by a true story, When We Leave offers a fascinating look at a world most Western viewers will likely have a difficult time understanding. There are unwritten rules Umay’s relatives follow that openly contradict a variety of basic democratic values Western societies have embraced. As Umay struggles to regain her dignity, it literally feels as if she is confronting an entire system of beliefs rather than her family.

Nevertheless, the film does not have a preachy tone. The gap between Umay and her family is not artificially widened by populist speculations about identity and assimilation; the unique dilemmas each of the main characters faces once Umay announces her decision speak for themselves.

Kekilli began her acting career by appearing in various adult films. She made the transition to mainstream cinema in 2004 with Fatih Akin’s Head-On, another highly controversial film about Turks living in Germany, which went on to win the coveted Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. Her performance in When We Leave is fearless, boasting an impressive array of emotions.

The supporting cast is equally impressive. Tanriogen is excellent as the staunch traditionalist who struggles to come to terms with his daughter’s decision. Yigit and Can’s angry outbursts are also very convincing.

Technically, the film dazzles - the various close-ups of Kekilli’s face and the panoramic vistas from Kayseri, Turkey are beautiful. Stéphane Moucha and Max Richter’s minimalistic music score also serves the film well.

Note: When We Leave is Germany's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Award at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards. Last year, the film won Label Europa Cinemas Award (Feo Aladag) at the Berlin International Film Festival.

Die Fremde Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Feo Aladag's When We Leave arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox.

This is a very strong high-definition transfer. Fine object detail is excellent, clarity pleasing, and contrast levels consistent. Color reproduction also does not disappoint - the warm blues, reds, yellows, greens, browns, and blacks look fresh and natural. Edge-enhancement is never a serious issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction - the image conveys plenty of depth and fluidity. Really, aside from some light compression artifacts that I noticed during a couple of daylight scenes, When We Leave looks flawless in 1080p. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

Die Fremde Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Turkish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with fairly large portions of German). For the record, 20th Century Fox have provided optional English, German (appearing only when Turkish is spoken), and German SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The Turkish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very good. Though it won't test the muscles of your audio system, you will be pleased with its wide range of nuanced dynamics. The beautiful piano theme, for instance, sounds great. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. I also did not detect any annoying pops, cracks, hissings, or dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Die Fremde Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: Some of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in PAL. Therefore, you if you reside in North America, or another region where PAL is not supported, you must have a Region-Free player capable of converting PAL to NTSC or a native Region-B player and a TV set capable of processing PAL-encoded data in order to access them.

• Trailer - the original German theatrical trailer for When We Leave. In Turkish and German, with imposed German subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Bildergalerie - a gallery of stills from the film. (2 min, 1080p).

• Interviews - in German, not subtitled.
  
  -- Sibel Kekilli (4 min, PAL)
  -- Feo Aladag (6 min, PAL)

• Entfallene Szenen - a gallery of deleted scenes. In German and Turkish, with imposed German subtitles. (PAL).
  
  -- Alle abspielen
  -- Das Versprechen
  -- Blutsbande
  -- Fußball
  -- Weine nicht
  -- Versuchte Annaherung
  -- Vater und Sohn
  -- Neuanfang
  -- Opferlamm

• Deutscher Filmpreis 2010 - footage from Deutscher Filmpreis 2010. In German, not subtitled. (9 min, PAL).

• BD-Live Functionality

Die Fremde Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When We Leave is a fantastic film. I did not expect Sibel Kekilli to match the intensity of her performance in Fatih Akin's Head-On, but she is incredible as Umay. Her Lola Award is well deserved. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of 20th Century Fox, looks and sounds great. It is also Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.