Sans laisser de traces Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Sans laisser de traces Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov April 17, 2011

Grégoire Vigneron's "Sans laisser de traces" a.k.a "Immaculate" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of France Televisions Distribution. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; a short film directed by Gregoire Vigneron; and a standard making of featurette. In French and English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Yes, I've got problems

Étienne Meunier (Benoît Magimel, La pianiste, Les petits mouchoirs) has made it. In a couple of days, he is going to be the new CEO of a large corporation with hundreds of offices around the world. He has also married a beautiful woman (Julie Gayet, Select Hotel), who loves him and wants to have a baby.

While withdrawing money from an ATM machine, Etienne is approached by an old high-school friend, Patrick (François-Xavier Demaison, La chance de ma vie), whom he has not seen in years. The two end up in a chic bar where Etienne quickly impresses Patrick with his life story. A few drinks later, however, Etienne also confesses to him that his success has seriously damaged his ability to enjoy the simple things life has to offer. He also mentions to Patrick the name of a man, a chemist, without whom he would have never been able to have his career. When Patrick asks why, Etienne reveals to him that years ago he stole an unpatented technology from the chemist, which his company has used to make billions of dollars.

Slightly drunk, Patrick casually mentions to Etienne that the only way he could erase the sense of guilt that is tormenting him is to meet the chemist, tell him how he feels and ask for forgiveness. Much to his surprise, Etienne likes the idea and the two end up in a not so friendly neighborhood where the chemist supposedly lives.

The chemist is an old man who has spent the bigger part of his life working in a lab full of poisonous fumes. Now he is slowly dying. When Etienne reveals to him that years ago his company stole his technology, and that because of its success he is soon going to be one of the most powerful men in the city, the chemist goes berserk. Patrick tries to calm him down, but instead accidentally kills him.

Convinced that the best thing to do is run away, Etienne and Patrick abandon the body of the dead chemist and quickly disappear into the night. Later on, after Etienne goes back to his apartment, Patrick "steals" his car and makes sure that the cops will never be able to find it.

Almost immediately after that Etienne’s life begins to spin out of control. First, he discovers that the son (William Miller) of the company’s owner has arrived in town and started looking for a place to live, possibly because he is going to be the new CEO; then he receives a phone call from the dead chemist’s daughter (Léa Seydoux, Lourdes), who asks to see him; and finally Patrick asks for his assistance with a new unpatented product, which he is convinced will be a massive hit.

A French-Belgian production, Grégoire Vigneron’s Sans laisser de traces a.k.a Immaculate is a stylish neo-noir thriller that will appeal to viewers who enjoyed Cédric Klapisch’s Ni pour, ni contre (bien au contraire) and Guillaume Canet’s Ne le dis à personne. Its narrative isn’t utterly original, but the appropriate tempo shifts and clever misdirection moves transform the film into quite a rollercoaster.

Magimel and Demaison are excellent. Their characters are terrific gamblers with very different priorities in life. Only one of them, however, knows its real value.

The finale is very appropriate and convincing. It makes one wonder why most people have to be pushed to the edge so that they could figure out just how much is enough for them. Indeed, there is definitely a good lesson to be learned here.

Sans laisser de traces Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.34:1, encoded with VC-1 and granted a 1080p transfer, Grégoire Vigneron's Sans laisser de traces arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of France Televisions Distribution.

Aside from the occasional traces of very mild edge-enhancement (see screencapture #19), this is actually a surprisingly strong high-definition transfer. Detail is consistently pleasing, even during the nighttime footage, while clarity and contrast levels consistent throughout the entire film. Additionally, the high-definition transfer is interlaced, but motion-judder is never a serious issue of concern. Even when the camera zooms quickly, I did not see any heavy smearing. The image also has solid depth. Color reproduction is also stellar - the prominent blues, greens, grays, and blacks are solid. Finally, there are no serious stability issues to report in this review. (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).

Sans laisser de traces 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 (with portions of English). For the record, France Televisions Distribution have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

Sans laisser de traces is primarily a dialog-driven film with only a few big scenes where the surround channels come alive. Nevertheless, the French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track adds plenty of depth to Christophe Lapinta's hadsome soundtrack and the film gets a solid boost (there are a few quite atmospheric episodes). The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. There are no pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review either. The English translation is excellent.

Sans laisser de traces Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Making of - a rather long featurette in which director Grégoire Vigneron, producers Marc Missonier and Olivier Delbosc, and various cast members discuss the film, its narrative and characters. In French, not subtitled. (26 min, PAL).

• Une fausse image de moi: court-metrage de Gregoire Vigneron - a short film by director Gregoire Vigneron. In French, not subtitled. (26 min, PAL).

• La bande-annonce - the original theatrical trailer for Sans laisser de traces. In French, not subtitled. (3 min, PAL).

Sans laisser de traces Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Grégoire Vigneron's Sans laisser de traces is a stylish neo-noir thriller, which I thought was a very good companion piece to Guillaume Canet's Les petits mouchoirs - Benoît Magimel is terrific in both films. I enjoyed it quite a lot, as I could never quite guess how the main protagonists would solve their problems. Indeed, a well acted, very intelligent film. RECOMMENDED.