Soleil Ô Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Soleil Ô Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman October 4, 2020

Note: This film is available as a part of Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Project, No. 3.

Martin Scorsese has been curating the World Cinema Project for around thirteen years now, and the result has been a veritable cornucopia of international films that in some cases Scorsese’s efforts have helped save from the ravages of time (and vinegar syndrome). As of the writing of this review, the World Cinema Project is closing in on fifty restorations that they’ve undertaken, allowing fans to view films that, as even Scorsese himself states in some of the introductions included in this set, have been woefully underappreciated and rarely seen (even a cineaste of Scorsese’s reputation mentions that some of these films were “new” to him courtesy of the World Cinema Project). This third volume of films aggregates six interesting offerings that have at least some subtextual cross connections at times, but which serve as yet another example of what an incredible job the World Cinema Project does in bringing films of undeniable merit to a wider audience.

For anyone laboring under the illusion that racial issues are the sole purview of the United States (especially given a lot of the headlines that have populated newsfeeds over the past several months), Soleil Ô should provide at least some evidence to the contrary. This bracing 1970 effort from Med Hondo is almost frighteningly prescient at times in terms of how it presents the black immigrant experience, in this case focusing on an unnamed Visitor (Robert Liensol) who arrives in Paris with hopes of a new life, only to find his skin color relegates him to (at best) a second class life. Filmed over several years by Hondo on an apparently miniscule budget, Soleil Ô addresses all sorts of issues which are au courant in the United States in 2020, including not just the ability of blacks to find meaningful employment, but also such related aspects as the desire of at least some black people to receive reparations for everything their race has had to endure.

The film kind of ping pongs between an almost Impressionistic ambience and more vérité material, with Hondo capturing some really eye opening moments in Paris evidently shot with actual public reactions as the Visitor walks the streets with a white woman. The film features everything from first person confessionals offered directly to the camera, to animation, to sequences that almost seem culled from some musical shot in a fever dream, and as such, the story may occasionally get buried by the stylistic flourishes. That said, there's an undeniable emotional component here, especially as the Visitor realizes he is in fact a stranger in a strange (and unwelcoming) land.

Soleil Ô Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Soleil Ô is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.37:1. Some opening text cards offer the following verbiage on the transfer:

This restoration is part of the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers and UNESCO - in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna - to help locate, restore and disseminate 50 African films with historic, artistic and cultural significance.

Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata laboratory in collaboration with Med Hondo.

Restoration funded by the George Lucas Family Foundation and The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project.

The 4K restoration of Soleil O was made possible through the use of a 16 mm reversal print, and 16 mm and 35 mm dupe negatives deposited by Med Hondo at Ciné-Archives, the audiovisual archive of the French Communist Party, in Paris.

A vintage 35 mm print preserved at the Harvard Film archive was used as a reference. Color grading was supervised by cinematographer François Catonné.

The original 16 mm magnetic tracks were used for the audio restoration. Reel 4 as well as the main and end titles were missing, so these were restored using the original 35 mm soundtrack. The latter was also used to prelace the 16 mm mag tracks where the mix differed slightly from the vintage 35 mm print.

This is a generally great looking transfer with an understanding that the different elements utilized offer clear differences in clarity, detail levels (especially fine detail levels), and grain structure. The best looking moments, which I'm assuming were culled from a 35mm source, offer secure detail, a nicely resolved fine grain field, and strong contrast supporting deep blacks and nicely modulated gray scale. Other moments, which I'm assuming were sourced from 16mm, are considerably fuzzier, with noticeably less defined detail and an almost hazy appearance. There's no huge damage on display, as per a couple of other releases in this volume, but there are occasional small signs of age related wear and tear in the form of dirt and small nicks. My score is 3.75.

Soleil Ô Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Soleil Ô features an LPCM Mono track in the original French. There are occasional slight tinges of stridency in the highest registers, as in the weird metallic percussion that opens the film, but for the most part this is a nicely full bodied track that supports both narration (Hondo does the voiceover), dialogue and especially the many musical moments. The repeated use of what sounds to me like a djembe or other "musical drum" resounds with surprising force. Optional English subtitles are available.

Soleil Ô Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Martin Scorsese Introduction (1080p; 3:08)


• Med Hondo (1080i; 21:30) features a 2018 interview recorded by his friend and frequent collaborator cinematographer Francois Catonne. In French with English subtitles.

Soleil Ô Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Soleil Ô seems curiously attuned to many issues that have been discussed with increasing frequency in the United States over the past few months. "Fear" of immigrants is addressed overtly, as is the historical "baggage" that black people of all nationalities bring with them due to the sad history black people have had to experience. I'm not entirely sure Hondo's "artier" proclivities ultimately support the more visceral qualities of this tale, but Soleil Ô is more often than not a compelling and disturbing viewing experience. Technical merits are generally solid. Recommended.