Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Nocturama Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 7, 2018

Winner of SIGNIS Award at the San Sebastian International Film Festival, Bertrand Bonello's "Nocturama" (2016) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Grasshopper Film. The supplemental features on the disc include an original theatrical trailer for the film; video interview with director Bertrand Bonello; and two short films. The release also arrives with a 16-page illustrated booklet featuring a reprinted statement from the director an and an essay by critic and author Dennis Lim. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Tonight you belong to me

The precision of their movement in different areas of Paris reveals that they are doing something according to a plan. They quickly move from one location to another, check their cell phones, and take some pictures. A few meet on the subway train and then at the back entrance of a commercial building in the heart of the city.

For a long period of time no one utters a single word. (In the film it is approximately thirteen minutes, but there is an electronic timer on the screen that moves faster). It is clear that they have a deadline and that they are trying to get something done quickly. But what is it? The camera routinely moves around them and it feels like it is deliberately adding tiny pieces to a giant jigsaw puzzle that will soon reveal the answer.

Eventually, they gather in an empty conference room in a secluded building where they update each other about their work. They have placed Cemtex bars at key locations across the city and programmed them to go off at approximately the same time. Now that everything is done a few are nervous, the youngest one even looks scared. They down big shots of vodka to help them stay calm and focused on what is about to unfold. Tonight they are sending the message that they have been discussing for months.

Waves of explosions rock the city and, as previously arranged, the group moves into a giant luxury department store where they will spend the night while the authorities deal with the chaos and try to assess the situation. One of them, who has had inside access and knows every corner of the store, has killed the guards and deactivated the main security system. They will be safe here, and they will enjoy themselves while waiting. After the initial rush, however, some begin to ponder the consequences of their actions. They do not regret them. They are just slowly learning how to cope with the feeling that they have unleashed a modern war on their country that will change it forever.

Bertrand Bonello’s latest project, Nocturama, is an unbearably tense film that sums up contemporary terrorism with the same authority that Gillo Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers defined the structural identity of revolutionary terrorism more than five decades ago. Bonello’s approach, however, is different. Instead of offering multiple points of view that provide the audience with a clear understanding of the motives that characterize the rivaling sides like Pontecorvo’s film does, Bonello stays with the terrorists from the moment they go on offensive until the end of their mission.

But Bonello’s approach was largely predetermined because contemporary terrorism is something entirely different -- it is the most decentralized nihilistic form of social sickness to emerge since the end of WWII and in the politically correct environment that currently thrives in it is incredibly difficult to predict and contain its trigger points. So Bonello was left with no other option but to approach the terrorists as a friend and tell their story as if he was sympathetic to their ‘message’.

The truth that emerges from the film is disturbing but hardly surprising. The gang of multi-racial terrorists is exposed as brainwashed misfits who have convinced themselves that all of their misery is directly related to a dysfunctional system that has stopped caring about them. It is the same tired old excuse that these types of individuals always have while they become radicalized and then go on the war path to crush their ‘enemy’.

What makes the film special is Bonello’s ability to elevate the tension to an unprecedented level while completely discarding the melodrama. The typically obvious line that separates fiction and reality effectively disappears and the whole thing becomes... well, very scary. It is probably what it feels like to secretly infiltrate a real terrorist cell and be allowed to stay there until it self-destructs. Truly bone-chilling.

*Director Bonello also composed the hugely atmospheric soundtrack, which blends sultry beats and edgy synthesizer solos that very much remind of some of the darker instrumental tracks that the likes of Orbital and Front 242 created over the years.

Nocturama Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted 1080p transfer, Bertrand Bonello's Nocturama arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Grasshopper Film.

The film looks stunning in high-definition. Obviously it helps that it is a modern production that was shot and finalized with modern technology, but the quality of the master that the French rights-holders are offering for licensing is outstanding. Detail, clarity and depth are as good as one would expect them to be and fluidity remains consistently pleasing. The color scheme favors slightly warmer nuances but the overall balance is very good. Image stability is great. Lastly, there are no serious encoding anomalies to report in our review. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Nocturama Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French LPCM 2.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The film has an outstanding sound design that blends organic sounds and noises and first-class electronic tracks. Thankfully, the lossless 5.1 track offers a diverse range of dynamics that are the main factor behind the superb atmosphere. Truly, viewing this film is quite the experience. The dialog is clear, stable, and easy to follow. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

Nocturama Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Nocturama. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p).

• Interview with Bertrand Bonello - in this recent video interview, Betrand Bonello explains what inspired him to shoot Nocturama and discusses the main ideas that are channeled thought it and in particular the actions of its controversial characters. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (21 min, 1080p).

• Short Films - presented here are two short films directed by Bertrand Bonello.
  
  1. Cindy: The Doll is Mine (2005) - Cindy Sherman, a brunette, takes a picture of a blonde girl. Strangely resembling one another, the two (both played by Asia Argento) experience mutual catharsis through glances, tears, and the music of blonde redhead. In English, not subtitled. (16 min, 480/60i).
  
  2. Sarah Winchester. Ghost Opera (2016) - a film about ghosts and madness that is itself a kind of ghost: the story of Sarah Winchester, heiress to the Winchester rifle fortune who was driven by unseen forces, as well as a production of her life that doesn't exist. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (24 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - 16-page illustrated booklet featuring a reprinted statement from director Bertrand Bonello and an essay by critic and author Dennis Lim (David Lynch: The Man From Another Place).

Nocturama Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

There are only a handful of directors that can consistently impress as fearless provocateurs and masterful stylists. Bertrand Bonello is one of them and it does not even matter if he chooses to work on a period project like House of Pleasures or edgy contemporary dramas like Tiresia and The Pornographer because the end result is always special. Bonello's latest film, Nocturama, is yet another confirmation that the West is oblivious to the fact that it is slowly collapsing from within. Ironically, as the destructive process accelerates the leaders of the biggest European states continue to invent bizarre reasons to excuse their betrayal of the values and ideals that they are elected to protect, which is why there will likely be more of the brainwashed radicals that are seen in Bonello's film.

Nocturama is the first release from U.S. label Grasshopper Film to reach my desk and it exceeded all of my expectations. Everything from the technical presentation to the packaging design is of the type of high-quality that the folks at Criterion deliver with their releases. Simply fantastic. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.