Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

El Sur Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 31, 2018

Víctor Erice's "El Sur" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute. The supplemental features on the disc include a theatrical trailer for the film's rerelease; recorded Q&A session with Victor Erice; and audiovisual essay by Cristina Alvarez Lopez and Adrian Martin. The release also arrives with a 20-page fully illustrated booklet featuring essays by Geoff Andrew and Mar Diestro-Dópido, as well as technical credits. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Estrella

The long interview with director Victor Erice that is included as a bonus feature on this release is every bit as fascinating as the film that he directed exactly thirty-five years ago. In it Erice takes a trip back in time and calmly deconstructs a dream project that apparently remained unfinished. That’s right, in its current form El Sur is only one part of the journey that decades ago Erice and producer Elías Querejeta had envisioned, and even though at the end the critics and audiences at home and abroad fell in love with it, it was essentially one big compromise. For a film of this quality, it is really quite remarkable.

The majority of the events in El Sur take place in a quiet provincial area somewhere in the North of Spain. Here the young Estrella (Sonsoles Aranguren) spends her time in two quite different worlds. In the first she learns from her family and while using the information that makes sense to her tries to understand the world around her. The most puzzling enigma that routinely torments Estrella’s mind, however, is her father, Agustin (Omero Antonutti), who spends a lot of time alone and frequently and just as easily frustrates her mother (Lola Cardona). And the more he does, the more convinced Estrella becomes that her father is not just an eccentric loner, but a man with fascinating secrets that are waiting to be uncorked.

At the age of fifteen, Estrella (Icíar Bollaín) begins to suspect that her father may actually be a lot like her, struggling with the rules and logic of the present, and frequently drifting away to another place where it is easier for him to roam free. But why? Someone who has lived a lot longer than her and has had far more opportunities to learn from his experiences should already feel perfectly at ease with the way things are. Driven by her inexorable desire to uncover the truth about her father Estrella then slowly begins to study and reconstruct his past, and while she does begins to appreciate the beauty and history of her country.

Based on a short story by Adelaida García Morales, El Sur (The South) is the type of fluid film that is virtually impossible to accurately describe with simple words. Ironically, the reason for this is actually quite simple. It uses the young girl’s imagination to capture the allure of a beautiful country, but it does so while favoring ambience over visuals. In other words, it is a sensory experience of sorts that engages the mind in a very unusual way.

Director Erice’s description of the production process, however, confirms that the complete version of El Sur would have been something of a hybrid project. Indeed, in it Estrella would have traveled to the South (the Andalusia region was apparently a favorite destination) and the loose ends of the story would have been used to deliver a substantially different resolution, partially shifting the focus of attention to her father’s double life. The current ‘open finale’ basically frees the viewer to remain comfortable with the sensory experience where the ambience is the story.

The great Spanish cinematographer Jose Luis Alcaine lensed the film and his clever management of light, shadow, and colors is a key component of the desired ambience. However, Erice’s masterpiece remains his directorial debut, The Spirit of the Beehive, which offers a truly unforgettable display of deft cinematographic artistry.

El Sur Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.67:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Víctor Erice's El Sur arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of the British Film Institute.

The release has been sourced from an older master, most likely one that was used for a previous DVD release of the film. (It is not the new 2K remaster that Criterion prepared for the recent North American release). Unfortunately, it is also a very inconsistent master with some pretty obvious flaws. Indeed, it appears that some digital corrections were applied to polish the visuals and as a result depth and delineation are far from optimal (see screencaptures #1 and 3). In fact, when the camera zooms it is actually very easy to see how delineation collapses and entire ranges of nuances disappear (see screencapture #17). There is noticeable crushing throughout the entire film that flattens the image as well. Colors are stable, but on the new 2K remaster they are fresher, better balanced, and with more convincing nuances. Image stability is good. There are no large damage marks, cuts, or town frames, but a few specks can be spotted. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

El Sur Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is clean and stable. I am pretty sure that some sort of remixing work was done when the film was transferred in high-definition because there are absolutely no age-related anomalies. I thought that clarity was marginally better on the U.S. release, but overall this is a very solid lossless track.

El Sur Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - theatrical rerelease trailer for El Sur. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min).

• Haunted Memory: The Cinema of Victor Erice - presented here is an audiovisual essay by Cristina Alvarez Lopez and Adrian Martin. In English. (13 min).

• Victor Erice Interviewed by Geoff Andrew (2003) - presented here is a long Q&A session with director Victor Erice. In English, with translation from Spanish. (83 min).

• Booklet - 20-page fully illustrated booklet featuring essays by Geoff Andrew and Mar Diestro-Dópido, as well as technical credits.

El Sur Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you want to have a quality release of Victor Erice's film El Sur, I encourage you to consider picking up the recent North American release from Criterion. It is sourced from a wonderful new 2K remaster that ensures a completely different experience with the film. This Region-B release from the British Film Institute has an interesting Q&A session with the Spanish director that was recorded in 2003, but it is sourced from a very inconsistent older master.