Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.0

La Rafle Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 20, 2010

Rose Bosch's "La Rafle" a.k.a "The Round Up" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont. The supplemental features on the disc include a standard making of featurette; two documentary films; the film's original theatrical trailer; and teaser. In French and German, with optional English, French, and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

We have a plan

The events chronicled in French director Rose Bosch’s La Rafle a.k.a The Round Up are real. On July 17, 1942 more than 13,000 Jews living in Paris were taken out of their homes and gathered in the giant Velodrome d’Hiver. From there, they were shipped to temp camps in the French countryside, and eventually sent to Auschwitz. Only 25 of them returned home.

The French authorities were in charge with the massive operation, not the Nazis. Rene Bousquet, a powerful member of the Vichy government, coordinated everything with Gestapo in Berlin, and directed the operation from his office in Paris. His initial plan was to exterminate only Jews from foreign nationality, but he changed his mind, and ordered the National Police to detain anyone with a file in the notorious Fichier Tulard.

La Rafle opens up in Montmartre, where most of the main characters in the film reside. Initially, Schmuel Weismann (Gad Elmaleh, The Valet) and his family, who have immigrated to France from Poland, are not concerned with the fact that they are asked to wear large yellow stars. They cannot even begin to imagine that the French authorities would mistreat them. Then, one day, they suddenly realize what is underway.

Bella Zygler (Sylvie Testud, Fear and Trembling) and her family are among the first to conclude that Paris is no longer safe. Dina Traube (Anne Brochet, Cyrano de Bergerac) and her husband have a good feeling what Vichy’s people are up to, but decide to stay. Both are too old to run away.

A young protestant nurse, Annette Monod (Melanie Laurent, Don't Worry, I'm Fine), is sent to Velodrome d’Hiver to assist Dr. David Sheinbaum (Jean Reno, 22 Bullets), who can’t help all the people waiting in front of his tent. Thirsty, hungry, and sick children, women and men are literally everywhere. Eventually, firefighters arrive and give the prisoners water and supplies.

Everyone is transferred to a heavily guarded camp in the countryside. From there, people are regularly shipped to the gas chambers in Auschwitz - the men first, then the women, and finally the children.

Bosch, who wrote the script for Ridley Scott’s 1492: Conquest of Paradise, has done a good job chronicling one of the greatest tragedy in modern French history - there is an abundance of factual information in La Rafle, and the emphasis on period detail is excellent.

The cast is impressive. Laurent delivers a powerful performance as the young nurse who desperately tries to make a difference. Both Reno and Elmaleh are very convincing, though the two also appear in a few overly sentimental scenes that partially disrupt the rhythm of the film. The child actors are simply fantastic.

David Ungaro’s (Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky) lensing is classy. The special effects, and particularly the ones used for the panoramic shots from inside Velodrome d’Hiver, are top notch.

Note: Earlier this month, La Rafle was screened at the Washington Jewish Film Festival.

La Rafle Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Rose Bosch's La Rafle arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors Gaumont.

Gaumont continue to impress with their Blu-ray releases - La Rafle, a fairly recent French production, looks terrific. Generally speaking, fine object detail is excellent, clarity very pleasing, and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. The color-scheme is beautiful - the various greens, yellows, blues, browns, grays, and blacks look rich yet natural. Edge-enhancement is never a serous issue of concern; neither is macroblocking. I also did not see any traces of severe noise reductions. Many of the close-ups convey wonderful depth, while the outdoor footage - and especially the powerful scenes from the camps where the prisoners are held before they are sent to Auschwitz - are quite vibrant. The CGI effects from Velodrome d'Hiver are also quite well done. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues whatsoever. I also did not see any any annoying damage marks, scratches, or stains to report in this review. All in all, this is a very strong presentation, which solidifies my conviction that Gaumont are one of the very best French distributors releasing important films on Blu-ray. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

La Rafle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS 2.0 (with portions of German). A French Descriptive Audio DTS 2.0 track is also included. For the record, Gaumont have provided optional English, French, and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is very good. The bass is not too prominent but effective, the rear channels intelligently used, and the high-frequencies not overdone. There is a good range of nuanced dynamics - Christian Henson's score clearly benefits the most from the loseless treatment. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. Lastly, while viewing La Rafle I did not detect any pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

La Rafle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Blu-ray

• Bande annonce - the original French theatrical trailer for La Rafle. In French, not subtitled. (3 min, 1080p).

• Teaser - in French, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080p).

• Making of - a standard featurette containing footage from the shooting of La Rafle, as well as information about the events the film chronicles. In French, not subtitled. (27 min, PAL).

SDVD 1

• La rafle du Vel d'Hiv, une histoire francaise - made for TV documentary film focusing on the events chronicled in La Rafle. In French, not subtitled. (135 min, PAL).

SDVD 2

• Journal de "La Rafle" - another documentary film focusing on the events chronicled in La Rafle and the production process. The film contains archival footage and various interviews with cast and crew members. In French, not subtitled. (93 min, PAL).

La Rafle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Well researched and impressively lensed, Rose Bosch's La Rafle chronicles one of the greatest tragedies in modern French history. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of French distributors Gaumont, looks and sounds very good. It is English-friendly but also Region-B "locked". Keep that in mind if you reside in Region-A but wish to add La Rafle to your library. RECOMMENDED.