Eureka Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.0
Overall		4.5

Eureka Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 27, 2025

To its absolute credit, Eureka is one of those sui generis offerings which may admittedly recall other efforts at least in passing (and, frankly and also commendably, only intermittently), but which is so original that it may actually confound those unaccustomed to a deliberately disjunctive narrative and an equally ambitious style which sees co-writer and director Lisandro Alonso morphing from an Academy Ratio (more or less, anyway) black and white western to two wider aspect ratios in color that first documents the kind of appalling poverty and even squalor many Native Americans live in, and then completely amazingly moves on to an almost magical realist section that includes an on screen morphing of its own, with a young Native American girl transforming into a jabiru, a stork like bird that evidently has some significant "spiritual" meanings for many indigenous cultures in the Americas.

Note: It's next to impossible to fully summarize this interesting film without overtly mentioning a couple of potential spoilers. Those averse to such revelations are encouraged to skip the following section of this review.

It's actually probably best not to know too much about Eureka before "going in", though it should be mentioned that despite at least two rather gobsmacking moments scattered throughout the narrative, this is a slow, deliberate effort that requires a bit of patience. It's structured as a self conscious "triptych", with the first "panel" that aforementioned black and white western, with Viggo Mortensen as a gunslinger named Murphy who is at least a bit like the John Wayne character in The Searchers in that he's on the hunt for a kidnapped relative.

The first sleight of hand comes a bit later, when it's revealed that the entire opening segment is actually an old movie playing on a television, which is when things segue into the current day predicament experienced by some Native American peoples. While there's initially a look at the Lakota Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota and a police officer (Alaina Clifford) working there, the actual focus might arguably be thought of as a younger girl (Sadie Lapointe) who is perhaps struggling with her Native American identity and who is ultimately transformed into a jubiro by her shaman- esque grandfather. She then "migrates" to an actual indigenous tribe in South America.

What is one to make of all this patently bizarre content? Well, aye, there's the rub, as one wise man once put it, though it should be mentioned outright that there's a lot to make out of this film for those willing to think about what is being depicted. A whole subtext of how "manifest destiny" dislodge the indigenous peoples and what that then ended up doing them suffuses the emotional tenor of the film, but there's an even stronger emphasis on identity and a connection to nature. In the "review synchronicity" department, another unrelated effort I'm about to write about had a supplement on its disc detailing The Raw and the Cooked by noted anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, and I'd simply suggest those interested to check out a summary of that work for even more insight into what Eureka may be trying to get at.

Eureka Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Eureka is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer variably in (approximately) 1.37:1, 1.64:1 and 1.85:1. Both the 1.37:1 and 1.64:1 framings offer rounded edges, which may inherently at least subliminally suggest actual celluloid, though only the Academy Ratio material was shot on actual film. There's next to no information on the IMDb as of the writing of this review, but I was able to find this rather interesting interview with Lisandro Alonso where he overtly mentions the utilization of both film and digital capture. The result perhaps surprisingly is only perhaps subliminally heterogeneous, with the biggest observable difference probably being the black and white transformation into color, with the attendant widening of the aspect ratio. The difference between the 1.85:1 and 1.66:1 framings actually struck me as a good deal less instantly noticeable. A lot of the reservation material in particular tends to be relatively low light, and so at times fine detail levels can at least marginally be affected, but in the bright outdoor scenes, things pop well and detailing tends to be excellent. Some of the last section also has some dimly lit material where the same issues prevail. I noticed no compression issues of any note.

Eureka Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Eureka features Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options. The surround track has some really gorgeously spacious renderings of both ambient environmental effects (throughout all three sections in varying ways) and some evocative scoring, which "traverses" cultures from old timey western bar songs to some indigenous drumming. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. The last section in particular is in Portuguese (earlier moments have some Lakota) and the disc defaults to subtitles, but all English subtitles throughout are in fact optional.

Eureka Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Time is Fiction (HD; 10:52) is an excellent video essay by Hunter Whaley.


• Eureka Trailer (HD; 1:55)

As with many releases from this label, the main menu also has an About Film Movement option that brings up a text box with information.

The sleeve has an inner print. The original exclusive Vinegar Syndrome release evidently had a slipcover, but the review copy sent to me did not.

Eureka Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When you have to sit through as many cookie cutter "entertainments" as I do to fulfill writing obligations, you might be more prone to relish a film like Eureka simply because it's so unusual. For those wanting a rather thought provoking experience, even if it can be slow and ponderous at times, and especially for those attuned to the sad ways indigenous peoples have been treated by interlopers, Eureka is visceral and moving. Technical merits are first rate and the visual essay really interesting. Highly recommended.