Land Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Land Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 7, 2021

Life will invariably bring hurt. It's one of the universal truths that some level of emotional trauma will befall everyone who breathes this world's air. But there's no universal response to it. The healing process will assuredly differ from one person to the next. It may be acceptance or denial. It may be forgetting or a failure to let go. For some it may be masking. For others grieving. In Director Robin Wright's Land, one person's answer to anguish is isolation, a push away from the world in which the pain exists and a deep dive into solitude where preoccupation may shift from the pain to the art of survival, or perhaps allow the pain to fester so openly and intensely as to bring ruin to the one who dares confront it without any support system. The film is well versed in pain and recovery, in physical trials and emotional hardships. It's a compelling story of a life that begins in pieces and slowly reconstructs in unexpected ways.

In the wake of unthinkable tragedy, Edee (Robin Wright) chooses to flee the world and live a life of absolute isolation in the Wyoming wilderness. She brings with her enough supplies to last her a few seasons but little understanding of what it truly means, and what it will truly take, to survive alone, distant from civilization, in untamed land. It's a rough go. Her home is a dank and dingy log cabin that offers only basic shelter. Snow drifts in during the winter and when a bear ransacks the cabin and eats or ruins most of her foodstuffs and supplies, she grows increasingly dejected, despondent, and desperate. Unable to hunt or kill to eat and quickly running out of prepackaged food, she all but gives up to die. She's saved when passers-by Miguel (Demián Bichir) and Alawa (Sarah Dawn Pledge) find her and slowly nurse her back to health. Miguel refuses to allow her spirit to die, either, and slowly aids in Edee's emotional recovery from the tragedy she sought to escape in isolation.

This is a somber film that gradually builds its character to a place of hope. When Edee first arrives in the Wyoming frontier, she is a spiritually broken and emotionally empty person, reeling after unspeakable tragedy and suffering from unthinkable pain. Her goal, it would seem, would be to survive in solitude, to remove herself from any and every reminder of her past. She has brought such reminders with her, notably a shoebox full of memories but she cannot yet bring herself to confront her past. Her healing, if it comes, will not come from remembrance but rather from forgetting. The physical demands born of her isolation, she perhaps believes, will remove her spirit from the past just as she has removed her physical presence from the rest of the world. When her struggles mount and survival seems impossible, her emotional pains only multiply as her physical body decays. Her hope is all but lost. What remains of her will to live evaporates.

That is, until she rediscovers her will to live. As the film's first half follows Edee's decline to the point that she comes near to death, the second half follows her slow resurrection as her body heals and her spirit mends. It is ironically from connection, not isolation, the she finds that healing. Her fortunes turn when that from which she wanted to escape interjects into her life, at first by need, later by desire. Edee's connection with Miguel is not physical. It's spiritual. She calls him Yoda, but he's more of a guardian angel. They quietly share in both growth and grief, hers and, perhaps, his, too. It's a richly realized screen relationship that speaks not only to the more superficial elements of hope in companionship but also something far deeper, too, about how it's truly the soul that drives one to a place of existence, not the limited body or the malleable mind, for it was body and mind, not soul, that seemed to drive Edee to isolation but the soul that will bring her free from it.

Land sees a grounded performance from Robin Wright, a quality work of depth and breadth that is obviously vital to the film's success. Wright proves well capable of capturing the broad emotional strokes that drive her character's superficial works and pains but also diving deeply into the intimate currents that course through underneath and truly define who she was, is, and wishes to become, which evolves through the film. She's also well capable of simultaneously handling directorial duties. Her work behind the camera is just as nuanced, again vital to reinforcing not the essential ebb and flow plot points and character beats but making full use of the locations to emphasize isolation or even the seasons to build not superficial tension but influence the character's innermost psyche and being. Wright's work on both ends of the camera go hand-in-hand in what is often an exquisite symbiosis that together drive the film to excellence. Demián Bichir's excellent work is not to be overlooked, either, for its subtle excellence as the film's lynchpin character.

Land Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Land was shot digitally and Universal's Blu-ray translates the material to 1080p with firm, reliable clarity, detail, and color. The image captures the majesty of the Wyoming setting with grace and elegance. Viewers will appreciate the fine definition to wilderness terrain -- trees, leaves, grass, snow -- as well as the intricate detailing seen inside the cabin, at first filled with odds and ends, cobwebs, dust, and signs of decay. While Edee cleans the location somewhat thoroughly there remains a tangible feel for the age and wear and use on various surfaces and items that bring a good deal of character to the screen. Skin details are fine in close-up, not so intimate as the best Blu-ray images but certainly offering enough raw clarity to satisfy requirements, and then some. Ditto clothes. Color output is healthy. For the most part it's natural greens that are the most screen-commanding color; most of the movie takes place in a wilderness setting and there's not much opportunity beyond blue skies and some clothing hues (including some orange hunting gear) to stand apart from the greens, the brown cabin, and some other earthen colors scattered about. Skin tones are contextually fine and black levels are good enough in low light. The image does see some noise at times and compression issues in others, both predominantly inside the cabin and at low light. Otherwise this one's good to go.

Land Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Land's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is all about the atmosphere. While there are some examples of high clarity and widely spaced music, the track is at its best when it's recreating the Wyoming wilderness, whether light natural background or fierce climate extremes. Rustling leaves and light blowing winds bring a feel for the serene into the listening area. When Edee first arrives nature is at peace with her, but as the temperate climate turns frigid, high blustery winds and severe winter weather punish the soundstage with intense engagement that pushes all through the listening area, enveloping the listener in the harsh and cold landscape. A few points of interest exist elsewhere, too, such as crackling fireplaces or a couple of high yield gunshots. Dialogue is always clear, well prioritized, and center positioned for the duration.

Land Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Land includes three featurettes. No DVD copy is included but Universal has bundled in a Movies Anywhere digital copy code. This release ships with an embossed slipcover.

• Crafting Land (1080p, 5:07): Shooting on a tight schedule, shooting locations and crafting the cabin, making use of the ever shifting climate, hair and makeup, and more.
• Robin Wright: Feature Film Directorial Debut (1080p, 3:50): A closer look at Wright's work on both sides of the camera with emphasis on her skill and contributions as director.
• After the Trauma (1080p, 3:19): Quickly exploring the film's main character and story themes.

Land Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Land is at once both sobering and hopeful. It's well versed in the external simplicities and the internal complexities alike. Both compliment one another quite well, and necessarily so, in this story of lost hope and the redemptive power not of isolation but of companionship, of someone willing to extend a hand of help and friendship in a time of dire need. Universal's Blu-ray is of a high quality for its video and audio output. Three brief featurettes are also included. Highly recommended.