Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.0

Mr. Nobody Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 21, 2011

Screened at the Venice Film Festival, Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael's "Mr. Nobody" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Optimum Home Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer and a making of featurette. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Let's talk about the mortals...

The Future. The scientists have figured out how to regenerate human cells and people are no longer dying of old age. Most are not even sure what dying is - other than it is a thing of the past. This is why the media has become obsessed with Mr. Nemo Nobody (Jared Leto, Requiem for a Dream), the last mortal on Earth. He is 117 and very sick. He is also a man whose death will be one of the greatest news stories the immortals would ever have.

A young journalist (Daniel Mays, Shifty) asks Nemo to tell him about his life and the Old World. Though he can’t remember much, Nemo agrees to do the interview.

Nemo’s parents loved him. He meant everything to them and for a short period of time he felt blessed. Then, one day they decided to part ways and he was asked to choose a side. And he did. He chose his father (Rhys Ifans, Mr. Nice). They struggled but managed. Or did they?

Actually, Nemo chose his mother (Natasha Little, Another Life). They settled in Canada and Nemo's mother fell in love with another man. Then Nemo fell in love with a girl (Juno Temple/Diane Kruger). She was everything he had ever dreamed of - beautiful, smart and funny. Then, one day she left him. Or he lost her. Nemo cannot remember.

Rewind. Actually, this was not the girl Nemo fell in love with. He met a different girl (Clare Stone/Sarah Polley), who was in love with another boy. It took him awhile but he told her how he feels about her and her heart melted. Then she rejected him and something terrible happened. But what? Nemo cannot remember.

Rewind again. Actually, there was a third girl (Audrey Giacomini/Linh Dan Pham). Yes, this is the one Nemo loved. They married and had kids, a beautiful house, a pool, a nice car. She always reminded him how much she loved him, but he did something that hurt her. But what? Nemo cannot remember.

In fact, Nemo cannot remember at all what took place in his life when he was younger, when people were still dying of natural causes. He loved someone, but the past is so blurry, so dark, he can only recall that she was beautiful. The strange thing is…even though Nemo cannot remember the past, he can remember the future.

Mr. Nobody is a brilliant film. It is directed by Belgian helmer Jaco Van Dormael, who gained international recognition with his beautiful Toto le heros (Toto the Hero) back in the early 90s.

Mr. Nobody reminded me about Danish director Christopher Boe’s Reconstruction, which is about a young man who meets and falls in love with a beautiful woman. When he finally approaches her, he falls into a strange time vortex where nothing is what it seems.

In Van Dormael’s film the main protagonist has a similar experience - he tries to reconstruct his life but his brain does not cooperate. He has memories but they are worthless because he is unsure whether they are real.

What separates the two films is their perception of time. In Reconstruction the main protagonist is firmly rooted in the present and there is a certain thread that he could follow to regain his sanity. In Mr. Nobody the main protagonist is caught somewhere between the past, present and future, and left to struggle with countless "what ifs".

Note: In 2009, Mr. Nobody won Biografilm Award (Jaco Van Dormael) and Golden Osella Award for Best Technical Contribution (Sylvie Olivé) at the Venice Film Festival.

Mr. Nobody Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Optimum Home Entertainment.

The high-definition transfer has been sourced from the same Pathe master which Entertainment One Films Canada Inc. worked with when they prepared their Blu-ray release of Mr. Nobody. Naturally, the UK and Canadian Blu-ray releases look almost identical.

Compression is slightly better and during some of the outdoor scenes the image is marginally crisper. Brightness levels are also toned down a bit, though when viewing the film it is practically impossible to tell. Aside from the blacks looking slightly richer and better saturated, the color scheme appears identical to that of the Canadian release. Additionally, I checked the two scenes where I had noticed some mild banding, but I did not see any here. Edge-enhancement is also not an issue of concern. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review whatsoever. (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).

Mr. Nobody Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. For the record, Optimum Home Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. (Note: In the Set-Up section of the disc, there is an option for the English subtitles, but such are not included).

Pierre van Dormael's ambient score benefits the most from the loseless treatment. As I noted in our review for the Canadian release, the beautiful guitar solos sound simply terrific and literally transform entire sections from the film. Elsewhere, the explosions are remarkably intense. The dialog is crisp, clean, and always easy to follow. For the record, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or audio dropouts.

Mr. Nobody Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for Mr. Nobody. In English, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080/50i).

• Making of - a wonderful, very informative featurette with an abundance of footage from the shooting of the film, as well as various comments by cast and crew members. Please keep in mind that the featurette contains numerous spoilers. In French and English, with optional English subtitles where necessary. (47 min, 1080/50i).

Mr. Nobody Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Optimum Home Entertainment continue to release important classic and truly original contemporary films that deserve to be seen by as many people as possible. If you reside in a Region-B territory and have not been able to take advantage of the Canadian Blu-ray release of Belgian director Jaco Van Dormael's Mr. Nobody, I urge you to consider the UK release. This is a wonderful film you cannot afford to miss, folks. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.