Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

El Sur Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 27, 2018

Víctor Erice's "El Sur" (1983) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival video program with Victor Erice; archival featurette with cast and crew interviews; and more. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring an essay by Elvira Lindo and technical credits. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

The old man with the secrets

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 Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"This new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on Lasergraphics Director film scanner from a 35mm low-contrast print made from the original A/B roll negative. A previous transfer supervised by director Victor Erice was referenced for this color grading. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices and warps were manually removed using MTI Film's DRS, while Digital Vision's Phoenix was used for jitter, flicker, small dirt, grain, and noise management. The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the 35mm print. Clicks, thumps, hiss, hum, and crackle were manually removed using Pro Tools HD and iZotope RX.

Digital scanning: EFILM, Hollywood.
Colorist: Lee Kline/Criterion Post, New York.

The film looks great in high-definition. It has a very solid organic appearance that makes the subtle shifts in the balance between light, shadow, and colors very effective. Small density fluctuations are present, but they are part of the chosen cinematographic style. There are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. The color grading is excellent. There is actually an evolving range of primaries that change the temperature of different sequences really well, as well as a wide range of earthy nuances. Contrast levels are convincing, and I find the nuances that emerge during darker/nighttime footage to be equally pleasing. Image stability is excellent. There are no distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, stains, warped or torn frames to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A 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 very clean, stable, and nicely rounded. Enric Granados' score has an important role to play, though it does not have a serious impact on the film's overall dynamic intensity. It adds flavor and enhances the intended ambience. The dialog is very easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

El Sur Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Victor Erice - in this archival featurette, director Victor Erice discusses in great detail the original concept for El Sur, the version of the film that was introduced at the Cannes Film Festival and its reception, some interesting editing choices that were made, etc. The featurette originally aired on Spanish television on September 20, 2003. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (22 min, 1080i).

• The Making of El Sur - this video program features archival interviews with cast and crew members -- including cinematographer Lose Luis Alcaine, camera operator Alfredo Mayo, and actors Omero Antonutti and Sonsoles Aranguren -- with information about the production history of El Sur. The interviews were originally shot for El Mundo in 2012 and have been reedited for this release. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (25 min, 1080i).

• Que Grande es el Cine - presented here is an archival episode of the Spanish television program Que Grande es el Cine in which critics Miguel Marias, Miguel Rubio, and Juan Cobos discuss El Sur and its style, as the novel that inspired it. The episode was broadcast in 1996. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles. (62 min, 1080i).

• El Sur - Adelaida García Morales's novel is included as well. (44 pages).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Elvira Lindo's essay "A Complete Incomplete Film', translated from Spanish by Deborah Wassertzug, and technical credits.

El Sur Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I disagree with some of the Spanish critics who have argued that El Sur is director Victor Erice's masterpiece -- I think that The Spirit of the Behave is his best work -- but on the other hand I can't say that I have ever seen a better "unfinished" film. In fact, I can't think of another film quite like it. It is a pretty remarkable accomplishment, really, and if for some reason you have ignored it over the years now is a great time to discover it. Criterion's recent Blu-ray release of El Sur is sourced from a fantastic new 2K restoration, and also arrives with a copy of the original novel by Adelaida García Morales that inspired the film. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.