Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Love 3D Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov December 19, 2015

Screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Gaspar Noé's "Love" (2015) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Curzon Artificial Eye. The release contains 3D and 2D version of the film, but does not have any supplemental features. In English, without optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Love or lust?

Here’s what Gaspar Noe’s latest film, Love, isn’t: It is not a porn film. This should be painfully obvious to anyone who has actually seen a porn film. It is not an exploitation film. This should also be obvious because exploitation films do not waste time deconstructing and analyzing intimate relationships. It isn’t a pointless film either.

Much like Noe’s Irreversible, which also left a lot of people fuming, Love has a rather unconventional narrative structure. It begins in the past and constantly jumps forward and back until it eventually settles down in the present. The chronology of the events, however, isn’t difficult to follow. On the contrary, this way it is actually a lot easier to see the crucial ups and downs in the main protagonist’s life.

His name is Murphy (Karl Glusman) and he is a young American who is studying film in Paris. Here he has fallen in love with Electra (Aomi Muyock), a beautiful French girl who also tells him that she loves him. When they are together and make love, they seem to connect in a way only two people who were meant to be together can. Their bond seems so strong that they share everything, even their most intimate desires.

One such desire, however, is the reason why Murphy loses Electra. They have a threesome with another girl, Omi (Klara Kristin), who later on replaces Electra. The new relationship is frustrating and awkward, but it is impossible to erase from Murphy and Omi’s lives because after Electra’s departure they become parents. A lot of the film is dedicated to Murphy’s struggle to come to terms with the reality of the situation while revisiting past events and trying to reassess their significance.

There is simplicity and directness in the film that a lot of people will likely find off-putting. Many of its major points are delivered through long and explicit lovemaking scenes, not through elaborate conversations. This does make the film look like an unconventional experiment in which the sex is essentially used as a litmus test to reveal the true nature of love.

But how does one define love? And is there a "right" way to experience it?

One could come up with some fairly straightforward answers to these questions if one looks at older romantic films in which men and women boldly confess how they feel about each other and always seem in total control of their bodies. Similar answers can be found even in very recent films.

Noe’s film does not attempt to define -- or, if one believes that previous films have already done so, redefine -- love. It simply shows how it happens, how it is consumed by young people who are convinced that they are experiencing it, and how easy it is to confuse it with lust.

The 3D-enhanced visuals give the film an extra edge, but the experience isn’t exactly earth-shattering. The 2D version works just as well. (Keep this in mind because there are claims that the only way to see the film is in 3D).

Love 3D Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.38:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Gaspar Noe's Love arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Curzon Artificial Eye.

The disc contains 3D and 2D versions of the film. Each version can be accessed via the disc's main menu.

The film was shot with the Red Epic Dragon camera and as expected depth and especially clarity are excellent. In fact, even during the darker indoor footage, where light is exposed and captured in unique ways, the visuals are very impressive. A few of the extreme close-ups reveals some unusual tiny artifact-like color patches, but they appear to be inherited (see screencapture #7). Color balance, saturation, and stability are excellent. There are no stability issues.

On the 3D version the lovemaking scenes have better dimensionality, but I am not convinced that they become more effective because of it. The framing, camera movement and especially the lighting are far more important. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Love 3D Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. There are no optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The film has a very diverse soundtrack, featuring music from Johann Sebastian Bach, Brian Eno, Death in Vegas, and Pink Floyd, amongst others. But there is a wide range of organic sounds and noises that seem a lot more important. Dynamic intensity is good, but you should not expect to have your audio system tested. The dialog is crystal clear, clean, and stable throughout the entire film.

Love 3D Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.

Love 3D Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Love means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Gaspar Noe's latest film shows how it happens, how it is consumed by young people who are convinced that they are experiencing it, and how easy it is to confuse it with something else. The film is quite explicit, but there is nothing in it that looks or feels degrading. I am not convinced that it is more effective in 3D, but it is easy to see what Noe wanted to accomplish. I liked the film, but it is a difficult one to recommend. Then again, all of Noe's films are. RECOMMENDED.