7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.3 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.1 |
Set in Spring 1944, a five-women commando unit parachutes into occupied France on a daring and dangerous mission to protect the secret of the D-Day landings and eliminate Colonel Heindrich, Head of German counter-intelligence. Their dangerous mission to change the war becomes a desperate fight for survival.
Starring: Sophie Marceau, Julie Depardieu, Marie Gillain, Déborah François, Maya SansaForeign | 100% |
War | 100% |
Drama | 69% |
History | 67% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
French: LPCM 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 2.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
A gorgeous cast of French-speaking spies is on a mission to secure the success of D-day in Jean-Paul Salome’s cracking Les Femmes de l'ombre a.k.a Female Agents (2008). Pic won’t reinvent the spy genre but an impressive period look, good script, and an upbeat tempo are likely to entice those who are growing weary of the never-ending Bond sequels.
Four women - Louise (Sophie Marceau, La Fidelitie), Jeanne (Julie Depardieu, In extremis), Gaelle (Deborah Francois, L’enfant), Suzy (Marie Gillain, La Clef) – are sent from London to a heavily-guarded Nazi hospital in France to rescue a British geologist (Conrad Cecil), who apparently knows a lot about the Allies and their plans to land in Normandy. The four women are joined by a Jewish Resistance collaborator (Maya Sansa, Bungiorno, note), who will assist them along the way. Louise’s brother (Julien Boisselier, Le Convoyeur) is heading the mission.
Once on French soil, some of the spies begin to question the orders of their leaders. One of the girls is also forced to confront an ex-lover (Moritz Bleibtreu, Run Lola Run), who is now in charge with the local SS division. Things get really complicated when the Nazis capture Pierre and Gaelle and the rest of the spies are left surviving on their own.
The agents
Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Female Agents arrive on Blu-ray courtesy of Revolver Entertainment (the film was already release on Blu-ray in France via TF1). Similar to the BD release of Kidulthood this transfer looks quite lovely. Contrast and clarity are strong, detail is at a consistently high level, and I did not detect any debris, dirt, or specks. The color-scheme is also solid with blacks in particular looking very strong. In fact, during some of the nighttime scenes (in particular the sniper scene in the very beginning of the film and the escape scene after the agents free the geologist) I think that the blacks are a bit overwhelming. Shadow detail on the other hand appears to be rather pleasing and I truly do not have any reservations with the manner in which Jean-Paul Salome's film looks in general. Furthermore, I did not detect any disturbing examples of DNR manipulation – there are specific scenes that exhibit a subtle amount of grain which appears to be perfectly intact. Finally, Female Angels reveals very warm and film-like look that I believe is in synch with the director's vision. (Note: This is a region-free disc which you will be able to play in your Region-A machine. However, please note that it takes approximately 10-15 seconds for the player to access the main menu as there is a PAL-logo that precedes it).
There are two tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French: Dolby Digital 5.1 and French: Stereo 2.0. Which is a bit disappointing! I note that it is disappointing not only because Revolver Entertainment's Blu-ray release of Kidulthood is terrifically sounding but also because TF1's release of Female Agents offers a solid DTS-HD Master audio mix which should have made it to this UK-produced BD. Unfortunately, all that we have here is the Dolby Digital 5.1 track which isn't poor at all but it surely isn't comparable to the DTS-HD Master mix I mentioned above. This being said, the French Dolby Digital 5.1 track is of above average quality. There is an admirable amount of activity in the rear channels, the explosions come off the speakers quite well, and the dialog is very easy to follow. Still, the depth, expansiveness, and potency a proficiently DTS-HD Master mix typically offers is simply not here. Finally, the English subtitles are imposed and I personally was not able to turn them off at all. I am convinced they appear as such due to the complex regional limitations the Revolver Entertainment are required to follow.
Aside from a standard "Making of" featurette where the cast and crew are seen in action as well as sharing their thoughts about Female Agents there are no other supplemental materials to be found on this Blu-ray disc.
An old-fashioned spy story with an impressively beautiful cast Jean-Paul Salome's Female Agents should appeal to those who found Paul Verhoeven's Black Book to be intriguing. It is beautifully photographed and with some quite impressive period decors that look marvelous on Blu-ray. This being said, the lack of a dedicated HD audio mix is somewhat disappointing especially considering the fact that TF1's BD release boasts a full-blown DTS-HD Master mix. I am unsure what it was kept off this disc. Still, having seen Revolver Entertainment's Kidulthood I am very optimistic about the future and the distrib's ability to offer high-quality Blu-ray releases. As I mentioned in the review for Kidulthood I cannot wait to see what they have planned for 2009.
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