Présumé coupable Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Présumé coupable Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 22, 2012

Winner of Label Europa Cinemas Award at the Venice Film Festival, Vincent Garenq's "Presumé coupable" a.k.a "Presumed Guilty" (2011) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French distributors France Television Distribution. The supplemental features on the disc include deleted scenes; raw footage from the shooting of the film; audio commentary by director Vincent Garenq and Alain Marecaux; and a documentary film directed by David Dessites. In French, with optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

You have to believe me

The events chronicled in Vincent Garenq’s Presume coupable a.k.a Guilty are real. In 2001, 18 people were wrongly accused of child rape and placed in detention. Yet the first trial took place in 2004, while the decisive appeal wasn’t won until 2005. Later on, the events, which would become known as Affaire d’Outreau, will be described by President Jacques Chirac as "judicial disaster".

Garenq’s camera follows closely Alain Marecaux (Philippe Torreton, Felix et Lola, Monsieur N.), who early in the film is arrested together with his wife, Edith (Noemie Lvovsky, House of Pleasures, 17 filles), and told by the Police that he is a member of a pedophile ring operating in France and Belgium. The stunned Marecaux attempts to defend himself but is quickly told that the best course of action will be to cooperate with the investigation.

Even though there is no conclusive evidence that Marecaux had ever communicated with anyone in Belgium, the detectives questioning him are convinced that he is a pedophile. When he refuses to cooperate – meaning that he refuses to immediately confess that he is guilty as charged - Marecaux is sent to jail. (At exactly the same time, his wife is also jailed).

What happens next reminds of what happens in Steve McQueen's Hunger. Marecaux repeatedly tries to get someone to hear his story but fails and becomes suicidal. The only man willing to listen to him, and appeal on his behalf, is defense attorney Hubert Delarue (Vladimir Yordanoff), but his appeals are thrown out as soon as they are registered.

Eventually, Marecaux goes on a hunger strike, and nearly dies. (Torenton’s acting here is as brave as Fassbender’s in Hunger). At this point, the company Marecaux used to work for has already publicly condemned him, he has sold his house to cover Delarue’s expenses, and his wife has left him. His mother has also passed away.

Marecaux and the rest of the alleged members of the pedophile ring are eventually acquitted, but the process - the hearings, the official statements, and dealings amongst the members of the jury – has to be seen to be believed.

The film is fast and factual, but not difficult to follow. The key players are identified early and there are no confusing flashbacks linking events from the past to events from the present. The hearings are also short and simple.

The film works well primarily because of Torreton’s brilliant performance. The character transformation on display during the second half of the film is arguably amongst the very best seen in contemporary French cinema. Raphael Ferret, who plays the ambitious judge rejecting the appeals, is also terrific.

The direction is intelligent, sharp, and precise. Dorian Rigal-Ansous’ (Claude Sautet’s Un Coeur en Hiver, Pascal Chaumeil’s Heartbreaker) editing is also solid, effectively keeping the melodrama at bay.

Note: In 2011, Presume coupable won Label Europa Cinemas Award (Vincent Garenq) at the Venice Film Festival.

Présumé coupable Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080/50i transfer, Vincent Garenq's Presumed Guilty arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label France Televisions Distribution.

Aside from the fact that the high-definition transfer is interlaced, there is nothing with the presentation which one could potentially be disappointed with. Detail is very good, both during close-ups and larger panoramic shots (see screencapture #8), clarity pleasing, and contrast stable. In fact, even the darker footage from Marecaux's cell and later on the hospital looks very good. Color reproduction is also convincing - there is a wide range of lush and natural blues, greens, browns, grays, and blacks. Furthermore, while viewing the film I was not bothered by motion-judder. There was one sequence, however, where I noticed light artifacts popping up. Lastly, there are absolutely no stability issues whatsoever. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Présumé coupable Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. (A French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Descriptive Audio track is also included). For the record, France Televisions Distribution have provided optional English and French SDH subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track has pleasing depth and fluidity, but surround activity is quite limited (the film does not have a prominent soundtrack). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. Also, there are no high-frequency distortions, pops, cracks, sync issues, or audio dropouts to report in this review. The English translation is very good.

Présumé coupable Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Commentaire du film - an audio commentary by director Vincent Garenq and Alain Marecaux. In French, not subtitled.

• En coulisse 1 - raw footage from the shooting of the film, with comments by director Vincent Garenq, members of his team and Alain Marecaux. In French, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080/50i).

• En coulisse 2 - more raw footage from the shooting of the film, with comments by director Vincent Garenq, members of his team and Alain Marecaux. In French, not subtitled. (4 min, 1080/50i).

• Scenes coupees - Five deleted scenes, with optional commentaries by Alain Marecaux or director Vincent Garenq. In French, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080/50i).

• De l'ombre a la lumiere - a documentary film about Affaire d'Outreau directed by David Dessites. In French, not subtitled. (8 min, 1080/50i).

Présumé coupable Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Vincent Garenq's Presumed Innocent chronicles an incredible event which is, in my opinion, rightfully considered to be the greatest French legal scandal in living memory. To the best of my knowledge, the film has not been picked up for U.S. distribution yet, so this English-friendly Blu-ray release is probably the only way to see it. RECOMMENDED.