Revenge Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Revenge Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 19, 2017

Yermek Shinarbayev's "Mest" a.k.a. Revenge" (1989) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include a brand new video introduction to the film by Martin Scorsese and new video interview with Yermek Shinarbayev. Also included with the release is a 60-page illustrated booklet featuring critical writings on the six films that are included in the Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2 box set and technical credits. In Russian, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Note: Revenge is part of Criterion's Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2 three-disc Blu-ray box set.

In the film’s fascinating prologue, a powerful king orders the head of his guards to transform his son into a fearless warrior. Many years later, the young man, who has inherited his father’s kingdom, is defeated by a peasant in a duel. Feeling humiliated, the king immediately orders his guards to beat the man to death. However, the king’s best friend, a brilliant poet, asks that he spares the man’s life. When the king refuses, the poet begs for permission to leave the kingdom.

The year is now 1915, the location a small Korean village. A local schoolteacher named Jan loses his temper and kills the daughter of a family he once lived with. When Jan flees to China, the dead girl’s father, Caj, vows to find him and cut his throat with his karambit. After years on the road, he finally tracks him down in a silver mine deep in the heart of China, but before he can kill him a beautiful young woman appears and saves Jan’s life. Soon after he returns home, Caj remarries and has a son, Sungu. In his final hours, he tells Sungu that he was brought to this world for only one reason: revenge.

The rest of the film follows closely Sungu as he matures and plans for the day when he would finally meet Jan. But like his father before him, life frequently presents him with difficult dilemmas that force him to reconsider his priorities.

A collaboration between Kazakh director Yermek Shinarbayev and Russian-Korean writer Anatoli Kim, Revenge a.k.a. The Red Flute is a deeply atmospheric film in which Soviet type melancholy meets documentary reality. The result is a fascinating hybrid of a film which despite its exotic flavor frequently reminds of Aleksandr Sokurov’s best work.

The film is divided into seven chapters (tales) -- Jan, Caj, Nemaja, The Monk, Elza the Romanian, The Revenge, and The House -- each focusing on different events that actually reveal a lot more about the rhythm of life and customs in the countries Caj and Sungu visit than the people they encounter throughout their journeys. Unsurprisingly, quite often seemingly important characters disappear without a trace.

But the fascinating point the film makes, which is that right and wrong are perhaps reflections of each other, becomes quite easy to embrace precisely because the audience isn’t manipulated to side with anyone. Instead, Shinarbayev and Kim present a series of interconnected events which essentially suggest that life is nothing more than a cycle of obsessions that constantly redefine us. It is a remarkable concept, really, considering the fact that the world we live in today is very much shaped by all sorts of different obsessions we have with status, material possessions and even weight.

Different parts of the film are lensed with special filters that give them a very appropriate soft and dreamy look. The prominent colors are also unusually soft and warm yellows, blues, greens, and browns. The footage from the final third, where Sungu is seen building his dream home on the Russian island of Sakhalin, is particularly beautiful.

Revenge has been restored using the original camera negative, the sound negative and a positive print provided by the Kazakhfilm Studio and held at the State Archive of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The restoration has been supported by the World Cinema Foundation launched by acclaimed director Martin Scorsese at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007.

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Yermek Shinarbayev's Revenge arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this release:

"This digital transfer was made in 2K resolution on an ARRISCAN film scanner from the original camera negative, the original soundtrack negative, and a positive print provided by Kazakhstan Studios and held at the State Archive in Kazakhstan. Special thanks to director Yermek Shinarbayev for actively participating in the restoration process. Restoration was completed in May 2010 at L'Iimmagine Ritrovata."

The release is clearly sourced from the same restored master that Eureka Entertainment accessed when they prepared the Region-B release in 2013. I think that the film looks very healthy and beautiful in high-definition. I must mention, however, that there are various fluctuations in terms of contrast and sharpness because in the different segments light is captured in unique ways and even some filters have been used to enhance the desired period atmosphere. In other words, specific stylistic preferences are responsible for the most obvious fluctuations. On the other hand, my feeling is that perhaps the entire film is graded with slightly warmer color tonalities -- as a lot of restoration projects that come out of Bologna are -- but the end result is still quite convincing. There are no problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Image stability is excellent. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Russian LPCM 1.0. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The original soundtrack blends elements from traditional Russian and Kazakh music that have a very important role, though the actual sound design incorporates a fair amount of equally crucial organic sounds and noises. So there is plenty of variety but overall dynamic intensity is modest. There are a couple of segments where some sporadic flatness emerges, but tthe overall balance is good. There are no pops, cracks, audio dropouts, or digital distortions to report.

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Martin Scorsese - in this new video introduction, director Martin Scorsese introduces Yermek Shinarbayev's Revenge and quickly addresses the socio-political environment in which it emerged. The introduction was filmed exclusively for Criterion in 2017. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Yermek Shinarbayev - in this new video interview, Yermek Shinarbayev recalls his first conversation with fellow filmmaker Anatoli Kim about the possibility of making a film together, and discusses the difficult production history of Revenge and its key themes and message. The interview was conducted exclusively for Criterion in 2017. In English, not subtitled. (19 min, 1080p).

• Booklet - 60-page illustrated booklet featuring critical writings on the six films that are included in the Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2 box set and technical credits.

Revenge Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really liked Revenge when I first saw it a couple of years ago. The manner in which it plays with different themes and especially its striking poetic fluidity reminded me of Andrei Tarkovsky and Aleksandr Sokurov's best work. The film is included in the Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 2 box set together with five other films that were restored by the World Cinema Foundation. (You can see our listing and review of the Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 1 box set, which was released in 2013, here). VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.