7.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
After a casual encounter, a broken-hearted woman decides to re-evaluate her life and examine the important events leading to her daughter's estrangement.
Starring: Rossy de Palma, Adriana Ugarte, Michelle Jenner, Inma Cuesta, Darío GrandinettiForeign | 100% |
Drama | 58% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Spanish: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH, French
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Julieta, based on several tales in a collection of short stories by Alice Munro, is a story of suddenly arriving hope following years of despair. The latest film from acclaimed Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar (Volver, Broken Embraces), Julieta considers the human condition and psyche through adulthood, exploring the highs and lows, the sudden moments of heartbreak and the lingering pain of broken relationships. Though certainly not its director's crowning achievement -- it's difficult to continuously top a canon as well-versed and accomplished as Almodóvar's -- the film finds favor in its deliberateness and its subtleties, its ability to mix intimate characterization with overreaching theme, to find the purpose in the smaller details amidst the lager happenings. It's a well-balanced film, texturally telling and emotionally engaging, purposeful and, while not entirely novel, sincere and intimately approachable through its melodramatic center.
Julia -- young.
Julieta was digitally photographed. Sony's 1080p presentation is quite good, with a strong, deeply saturated color palette its defining characteristic. As noted above, color plays an important role in the movie. Heavy, robust, and ever-present shades of blue and red are commonplace, not often together but frequently appearing in large quantities on clothes, painted surfaces, or accents and adornments. Reds are particularly showy with contrast dialed fairly hot and pushing hard. Blues are cooler and more welcoming, equally well saturated but not tipping the scales far beyond neutral. Supportive colors shine, though faces tend to show a little red push as well. Detailing is excellent. Image clarity is strong -- there's not a soft or smudgy spot in the film -- and textural details are many. Sweaters and heavier clothes are particularly attractive while complex city environments and assorted odds and ends throughout any number of interiors -- whether a tight train car or an apartment home -- are sharp and pleasing. Black levels are deep and lifelike. Light, sporadic noise is evident, but the transfer is otherwise free of serious blemish. This is a very good new release presentation from Sony.
Julieta's character-driven dramatic roots show in its Spanish language DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Hardly a whiz-bang, pull-no-punches extravaganza, the film's needs are rather limited, but what's here is handled with great care and attention to detail. Musical delivery is excellent, with the variety of score (from brassy Jazz to strings) playing with pleasantly wide spacing along the front and light, never intrusive wrap into the back. Clarity is terrific, with each instrumental detail obvious, and the spacing comes organically and pleasingly. City din is well defined in both the foreground and the background, lightly enveloping the listening audience in some nicely realistic beats in various exteriors. Country atmospherics are likewise filling and true. Heavy rain and rolling thunder dominate a scene in chapter nine, the most fundamentally aggressive bit of sound in the movie. Dialogue dominates, however, and it's always clear, detailed, and well prioritized with natural front-center positioning.
Julieta contains two featurettes and the film's trailer.
Julieta may not be Pedro Almodóvar at his finest, but this is a well made film with excellent visual thematic reinforcement and dual highlight performances in the lead. It offers little, if anything, new in terms of character analysis, but it's a well-done reflection of humanity as it traverses the adult life of its lead character, the peaks and valleys that define her along the way. It's both methodical and quickly moving, a testament to its dramatic resonance and Almodóvar's craftsmanship. Sony's Blu-ray offers excellent video and audio along with a couple of supplements. Recommended.
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