6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Anne and Frederique are sisters entering their teen years in 1963 France, torn between divorced parents and struggling with the confines of their strict school. Along the way, they undergo an awakening both political and romantic.
Director: Diane KurysForeign | 100% |
Drama | 99% |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.67:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
French: LPCM 2.0
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While there may be occasional skirmishes between them now and again, the relationship between sisters documented in the charming if lightweight Peppermint Soda is often of the “you and me against the world” variety rather than any simmering tensions created by sibling rivalry. While I apologize for kind of mixing genre metaphors, in a way I couldn't help but think that this vignette driven enterprise might have been labeled as a “slice of life” or shōnen entry had it been a Japanese anime, with this film's "snippet" driven narrative literally featuring fades to black at several junctures as if to emphasize that we are witnessing mere snippets. That said, Peppermint Soda has a breezy and coherently organic atmosphere even when it’s addressing some potentially provocative material, including a nascent affair between a relatively young girl and a much older man. But there’s a sweetness running through the film, perhaps appropriately given its very title, as the Weber sisters, Anne (Eléonore Klarwein) and Frédérique (Odile Michel) weather the vagaries of maturation, dealing with relationships with men (and/or boys), some pretty awful teachers who tend toward the harridan side of things, and parents who are no longer together (just for good measure). The film perhaps hints at profundities without ever totally “going there”, meaning that the intended emotional impact that co-writer and director Diane Kurys is obviously aiming for may not be fully realized for some.
Peppermint Soda is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Film Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.67:1. Cohen is touting a new 2K restoration of the film, and the results are commendably organic looking, with a nicely resolved grain field, and solid densities and saturation throughout the presentation. There are a few stylistic flourishes, like montages built out of stills, where grain can expectedly spike just a bit. The film is sweetly colorful, emphasizing some bright primary tones that contrast nicely with more muted pastels. While the 1963 timeframe isn't really emphasized all that much, some elements of the production design offer some mid-century modern fabrics that have interesting patterns which resolve without any problems. The palette may arguably be just a tad cool for some eyes, but it's natural looking nonetheless, with reds popping especially nicely.
Peppermint Soda features an LPCM 2.0 mono track in the original French (and just for those who care, I could not find any way to remove the English subtitles which are also included with this release). The film doesn't really have an ambitious sound design, but elements like the Cliff Richard tune from Summer Holiday that is utilized sound full bodied and distortion free. The film's dialogue is always rendered cleanly and clearly and ambient environmental effects in the several outdoor sequences also sound natural.
I recently reviewed another Cohen release, in this case a documentary called Spiral, which in part details growing anti-Semitism in France. In a way, I almost wish Peppermint Soda might have used the Webers' Jewish identity to rustle up a bit more tension (there are some passing "issues" that do show up, mostly to do with Frédérique's activist tendencies, but nothing that is overly confrontational or dramatic). As it stands, though, Peppermint Soda has a sweetly amiable quality and it rather smartly addresses issues young girls face on their marches toward womanhood, but the film might have benefitted from a less vignette driven narrative, which in turn might have helped to develop more of an emotional through line. That said, this is a very enjoyable film that should certainly appeal to lovers of smaller scale, intimate character dramas. Technical merits are first rate, and Peppermint Soda comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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