Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

Rust and Bone Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 10, 2013

Nominated for the prestigious Palme d'Ot Award at the Cannes Film Festival, Jacques Audiard's "De rouille et d'os" a.k.a "Rust and Bone" arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; making of featurette; deleted scenes; special effects demonstration piece, and audio commentary with director Jacques Audiard, co-writer Thomas Bidegain, and journalist Arnaud Calistri. In French, with imposed English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Remember me?

A tragedy brings them together. He is Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts, Bullhead, Black Book), an unemployed but proud single father with a dream – to become a professional boxer. She is Stephanie (Marion Cotillard, La Mome, Little White Lies), a killer whale trainer on the verge of a serious nervous breakdown.

They meet in Antibes, a beautiful resort on the Cote d'Azur, shortly after Ali arrives there to stay with his sister (Corinne Masiero, A l'origine) and becomes a bouncer in a posh nightclub. After a big brawl, Ali takes Stephanie back to her place and before he leaves gives her his phone number. He does not expect her to call him, but a few days later she does. They arrange to meet at her new place.

But the woman that greets Ali is nothing like the one he met in the night club – she is in a wheelchair and with bruises all over her body, barely able to talk. With tears in her eyes, she explains what has happened to her.

In the days and weeks that follow, Ali and Stephanie spend plenty of time together. He takes her to the beach and they swim together. Occasionally, they also have coffee together while talking about their lives. Then one day Stephanie casually mentions that she is unsure if she could still make love to a man in her condition. Ali offers to help her find out and they become lovers.

Jacques Audiard’s latest film is a poignant study of two disabled people – one unable to walk, the other unable to feel. The film chronicles their struggle to rebalance their lives after they meet and discover that they have something in common.

The film is broken into numerous episodes, each highlighting important events from Ali and Stephanie’s lives, before and after they meet. Audiard gives them plenty of time to be alone with their thoughts and question their decisions. With a few minor exceptions, these are the most profoundly moving scenes in the entire film.

There is a lot of lovemaking in the film, and for a good reason. While making love to Ali, Stephanie regains her desire to love her body, to make plans about the future. Initially, for Ali making love is just a mechanical act, but after he begins seeing Stephanie he realizes that it could be a special experience when shared with a special person.

Thanks to some truly spectacular digital effects, the various close-ups of Stephanie’s body look remarkably authentic. But Cotillard’s performance is even more impressive – the manner in which she moves, her facial expressions and gestures make Stephanie’s struggles thoroughly believable.

Schoenaerts is also terrific as the rough and hot-tempered father who gets involved in illegal boxing matches. Unlike Cotillard, his face very rarely reveals how he feels. It is either the blood on his face or the broken bones in his hands which tell us that he is suffering.

Shot with the Red Epic camera, Rust and Bone looks remarkably crisp and vibrant. Even sequences where light is very subdued convey outstanding clarity. Colors are lush and exceptionally well saturated throughout the entire film.

Rust and Bone was lensed by cinematographer Stephanie Fontaine, who also collaborated with Audriard on his previous two films, the award-winning A Prophet and The Beat That My Heart Skipped. The film’s soundtrack was composed by Alexandre Desplat (Argo, Lust, Caution).

Rust and Bone Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.40:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of StudioCanal.

Shot with the Red Epic camera, Rust and Bone looks very impressive on Blu-ray. Detail and clarity are outstanding - close-ups boast terrific depth (see screencapture #10) while the winter panoramic shots are so crisp and sharp that they often look like digital photographs (see screencapture #3). Color reproduction is also outstanding. There is a wide range of lush but earthy colors that remain stable throughout the entire film. Shadow definition is very good even during very dark sequences where the camera pans, tilts, and zooms quickly (such as the nightclub sequences from the first and second half of the film). Banding and aliasing issues are nowhere to be seen. Also, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. To sum it all up, this is indeed a very impressive presentation of Rust and Bone that recreates the theatrical experience wonderfully well. (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).

Rust and Bone Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. For the record, StudioCanal have provided imposed English subtitles for the main feature. They appear inside the image frame.

The lossless track is outstanding. It has a wide range of nuanced dynamics that effectively transform entire sections of the film; not necessarily by raising the dynamic intensity, but rather by exposing even seemingly minor sounds and noises. Additionally, the music is expertly balanced with the dialog. There are no problematic audio dropouts or distortions to report in this review. The English translation is excellent.

Rust and Bone Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for Rust and Bone. In French, not subtitled. (2 min, 1080/50i).

• The Special Effects - a look at the outstanding special effects in the film featuring before and after shots. Music only. (3 min, 1080/50i).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (7 min, 1080/50i).

• Making of Rust and Bone - a long featurette with plenty of footage from the shooting of Rust and Bone and various interviews with cast and crew members. A good portion of the featurette is also dedicated to the special effects used throughout the film. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (58 min, 1080/50i).

• Commentary - audio commentary with director Jacques Audiard, co-writer Thomas Bidegain, and journalist Arnaud Calistri. In French, with imposed English subtitles.

Rust and Bone Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone is a powerful and deeply moving film about two seemingly very different people who fall madly in love with each other. It is expertly directed and features two truly extraordinary performances by Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts. StudioCanal's presentation of Rust and Bone is enormously satisfying. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.