Las Acacias Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.5

Las Acacias Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov May 6, 2012

Winner of the prestigious Camera d'Or Award for Best First Feature Film at the Cannes Film Festival, Argentinean director Pablo Giorgelli's "Las Acacias" (2011) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures. The only supplemental feature on the disc is the film's original theatrical trailer. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

What a trip!

Lonely truck driver Ruben (German de Silva, The Mugger) agrees to drive Jacinta (Hebe Duarte) from Paraguay to Argentina. She is heading to Buenos Aires to stay with relatives; he is bringing home a large load of lumber. The two meet at a truck stop, but Ruben is surprised to see that Jacinta is also bringing her 5-month old daughter Anahi.

On the way to the border the two barely speak – Ruben is focused on the road while Jacinta takes care of Anahi. Occasionally, Ruben would pull over to have a smoke and Jacinta will quickly change Anahi’s diapers.

As time passes by, the two begin to warm up to each other. Jacinta tells Ruben that Anahi does not have a father while he reveals to her that he has a son whom he has not seen in years. Both sense that the other’s life did not turn out as planned, but do not ask why.

Meanwhile, Anahi becomes curious about Ruben and even attempts to play with him. At first he is annoyed, but then slowly warms up to her and begins to realize what he has been missing in life. Something inside him snaps and he decides to make a quick stop to see his sister and give her a birthday present. The two have not seen each other in years.

While waiting in the truck, Jacinta slowly begins to realize that Ruben’s heart is not as cold as she had initially thought, and that most of the time he acts as he does because he is hurt. His coldness simply hides the pain.

By the time they reach Buenos Aires, Ruben and Jacinta are already attracted to each other. They try not to show it, but both can definitely feel it. Occasionally they would look at each other, trying to figure out what the other is thinking, but remain silent.

Winner of the prestigious Camera d’Or Award for best first feature at the Cannes Film Festival, Argentinean director Pablo Giorgelli’s Las Acacias is a small film with an enormously big heart. It tells a simple story about love and broken dreams without even a whiff of melodrama.

The majority of the film takes place inside Ruben’s truck. The camera spends a great deal of time studying Ruben and Jacinta’s faces as they share stories and reveal bits of their past. Anahi breaks the ice between them and, in different ways, makes them realize that their lives could be different.

The film is slow and moody, so viewers who appreciate consistent tempo and clear direction in the films they see will likely have a difficult time with it. The atmosphere here is a lot more important than the buildup and the small conflicts between the two protagonists.

The acting is exceptionally strong. Ruben’s interactions with Anahi, in particular, are pure perfection. There are long sequences where the little girl looks at him, smiles, and reacts when he attempts to play with her that must have required an enormous amount of patience from Giorgelli.

Cinematographer Diego Poleri’s (El arbol, The Mother) lensing is simply gorgeous. Some of the panoramic vistas remind about Hugo Colace’s work in Carlos Sorin’s award winning Historias Minimas a.k.a Intimate Stories.

Las Acacias Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Pablo Giorgelli's Las Acacias arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Verve Pictures.

The high-definition transfer is interlaced, but the presentation is very strong. I suppose the fact that Las Acacias was shot with the Red One Camera has a lot to do with it. Clarity and image depth during the daylight footage, in particular, are outstanding (see screencapture # 4); selected close-ups also look mighty impressive. Colors are stable and natural. During normal playback, I was never able to spot some of the motion-judder that typically accompanies interlaced transfers. Only when I started taking the screencaptures for our review I noticed it in a couple of scenes. I think that unless one knows exactly where to look for it, one will certainly miss it. (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).

Las Acacias Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: Spanish LPCM 2.0. For the record, Verve Pictures have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature (they cannot be turned off).

The film's sound design is very simple - aside from the occasional conversations between the main protagonists, there are only random noises (mostly passing cars, trucks, and nature sounds). Understandably, the lossless track has a very limited dynamic amplitude. However, the dialog is exceptionally crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. Also, there are no audio dropouts or serious distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

Las Acacias Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Las Acacias. In Spanish, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080/50i).

• Leaflet - featuring a director's statement and an essay on the film first published in Aesthetica Magazine in December/January 2012.

Las Acacias Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Argentinean director Pablo Giorgelli's Las Acacias is a wonderful little film that tells a very simple story about two strangers who meet on the road and connect. Apparently, it was a very personal project for the director, as it was completed at a time when like his characters he also struggled with loneliness. To the best of my knowledge, a U.S. Blu-ray release of Las Acacias isn't planned. Naturally, this excellent UK Blu-ray release, courtesy of independent distributors Verve Pictures, comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.