Me and You Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Me and You Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov July 3, 2013

Screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Bernardo Bertolucci's "Io e te" a.k.a "Me and You" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film and a long documentary focusing on the production history of the film. In Italian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Promise me...

Me and You, legendary Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci’s first film since The Dreamers (2003), is about a 14-year-old loner who likes rock music, junk food, and ants. When a school ski trip is organized, Lorenzo (Jacopo Olmo Antinori) tells his mother (Sonia Bergamasco, The Best of Youth) that he would like to join his classmates but uses the money she gives him to buy food and an ant farm and hides in a large basement in the building where he lives to escape the dullness of everyday life.

Very soon, however, Lorenzo’s "vacation" is spoiled by the arrival of his older half-sister Olivia (Tea Falco), a temperamental junkie who has decided to go cold turkey. He attempts to convince Olivia to leave, but the visibly annoyed young girl threatens to call his mother and let her know that her son is a liar. Frustrated, Lorenzo capitulates and offers Olivia the only couch in the basement.

At first Lorenzo and Olivia barely talk, but then slowly warm up to each other. However, the realization that a loner and a junkie can have many common interests confuses them. Eventually, one of Olivia’s ex-lovers appears and offers to take her with him to the countryside. She likes the idea but decides to stay with Lorenzo until she fully recovers. At the same time, Lorenzo decides to visit his sick grandmother (Veronica Lazar, The Beyond, La Luna) in the local hospital and steal some of her sleeping pills for Olivia.

Based on the novel by Niccolo Ammaniti, Me and You is easily the most relaxed and optimistic film Bertolucci has directed to date. The focus of attention in it is on Lorenzo and Olivia’s gradual realization that loving yourself is the secret to happiness.

The second half of the film is the more exciting one. All of the meaningful discussions between Lorenzo and Olivia are here. But this is also the more inconsistent half – after Lorenzo and Olivia learn enough about each other and the way they have been living their lives, some unnecessary melodrama enters the film and visibly disrupts its rhythm. There are a couple of sequences with the agitated Olivia, in particular, that almost push the film in an entirely different direction.

Antinori is excellent as Lorenzo. At times he looks appropriately vulnerable and brittle, other times he is as angry as many young boys his age are. The sequences where he is seen alone in the basement are the best in the entire film. Unfortunately, Falco’s performance isn’t of the same caliber. More often than not her mood swings are simply unrealistic. Me and You was lensed by acclaimed Italian cinematographer Fabio Cianchetti. Bertolucci and Cianchetti also collaborated on Besieged and The Dreamers.

The film’s soundtrack was composed by Franco Piersanti (Cristina Comencini’s La bestia nel cuore, Marco Tullio Giordana’s Sanguepazzo). Also heard in the film are classic tracks by David Bowie (“Ragazzo solo, ragazza sola/Space Oddity”), The Cure (“Boys Don’t Cry”), Red Hot Chili Peppers (“The Power of Equality”), Arcade Fire (“Rebellion”), and Muse (“Sing for Absolution”).

Note: Earlier this year, Me and You was awarded European Silver Ribbon (Tea Falco), Silver Ribbon of the Year, and Guglielmo Biraghi Award - Special Mention (Jacopo Olmo Antinori) by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

Me and You Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Bernardo Bertolucci's Me and You arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

Me and You was shot in 2.39:1 but it is presented on this Blu-ray release in the preferred by Mr. Bertolucci 1.85:1 aspect ratio. The visuals never feel cluttered because the film has not been clipped but carefully reframed -- as the screencaptures provided with this article reveal, there is plenty of room on all four sides of the image frame. Detail and clarity are excellent. There are numerous close-ups that convey outstanding depth. Contrast levels are stable. Colors are well saturated and vibrant but never looking boosted. Towards the middle of the film, I noticed some light aliasing sneaking in but it quickly disappeared and was never distracting. Overall image stability is excellent. Also, there is no edge shimmer or other purely transfer-specific anomalies. To sum it all up, this is yet another excellent presentation of a contemporary film from Artificial Eye. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Me and You Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian LPCM 2.0. For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

I cannot say that there is a massive gap in quality between the two lossless tracks. Depth is indeed better on the 5.1 track, but there is hardly any serious surround movement. But such is the film's sound design - there are long conversations and only a few sequences where David Bowie, The Cure, and Muse's music raises the dynamic intensity. Clarity is excellent. For the record, there are no audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

Me and You Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Bernardo Bertolucci's Me and You. Music only. (2 min).

• Electric Chair: Behind the Scenes - excellent documentary film focusing on the production history of Me and You. Included in it are numerous interviews and conversations with Bernardo Bertolucci, cinematographer Fabio Cianchetti, sound mixer Remo Ugolinelli, and other cast and crew members. There is also footage from the 2011 Venice Film Festival, a surprising on-set visit by Richard Gere, etc. In Italian and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (48 min).

Me and You Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Me and You is easily the most relaxed and optimistic film the great Bernardo Bertolucci has directed to date. It does not have the aura of his previous film, The Dreamers, but that very unique style many of the Italian director's best films have is certainly there. As expected, British distributors Artificial Eye's technical presentation of Me and You is excellent. RECOMMENDED.