Something in the Air Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.5

Something in the Air Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov September 22, 2013

Winner of Golden Osella Award for Best Screenplay at the Venice Film Festival, Olivier Assayas' "Apres mai" a.k.a. "Something in the Air" (2012) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film, video interview with director Olivier Assayas, and a standard making of featurette. In French, Italian, and English, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Is it all worth it?

The film opens up with a violent clash between young French activists and heavily armed policemen. After the chaos, the activists begin covering their school with graffiti and attacking the government’s ‘Special Brigades’. The year is 1971.

The events that follow up are seen primarily through the eyes of a handsome young painter who dreams of a new world order. Gilles (Clement Metayer) regularly reads leftist newspapers, discusses Mao’s Cultural Revolution with friends, and hands out flyers to other students. Occasionally, he also makes love to the free-spirited Laure (Carole Combes), who likes being with him but isn’t ready for a serious relationship.

When a police officer is seriously hurt, Gilles, his beautiful classmate Christine (Lola Creton, Bastards, Goodbye First Love), and good friend Alain (Felix Armand) are forced to escape to Italy. Here they meet other radicals who are working hard to spread the truth (at first it is mostly Mao’s extreme political ideas, and later on anything that may compromise anyone that does not blindly accept them). Gilles and Christine then slowly fall in love, while Alain meets and becomes fascinated with a red-haired American hippie (India Menuez, Pebble of Love in the Shoe of My Life).

The more time they spend attending large parties and watching cheap propaganda films directed by other radicals, the more Gilles, Christine, and Alain begin to realize that their lives are too unbalanced. Gilles tries to refocus on his paintings, but Christine’s involvement with older men linked to various well organized underground groups makes it difficult for him to work. Alain also becomes emotionally attached to the American girl but then discovers that she isn’t convinced the two have a future together.

As more and more drugs enter the parties, the political speeches begin disappearing. Gilles is asked to do cover designs for a promising psychedelic rock band, while Christine gets a temp job in a small company promoting leftist films. Alain decides to go back to Kabul and look for spiritual inspiration.

This semi-autobiographical film from Olivier Assayas reminds of Philippe Garrel’s Regular Lovers. Both films recreate the spirit of a particular time – the 1968 riots in Paris – and then offer some interesting observations about the collapse of the different political movements it inspired.

But while Garrel’s film is more of a nostalgic piece about what could have been, Assayas’ film is essentially a slice of the time that was. To be perfectly clear, there really isn’t a conventional plot in Something in the Air. Assayas’ camera simply follows closely Gilles as he interacts with other young radicals, falls in love, and then slowly becomes disillusioned with the revolution.

Despite the fact that drama and romance are closely intertwined, Assayas does not seem interested in monitoring their evolution. Even tragic events with seemingly serious consequences are treated as pieces of something much larger, something far more important. The result is a surprisingly relaxed period film with a unique rhythm that essentially remembers an era without judging it.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier (The Motorcycle Diaries, Into the Wild) and Assayas are an impressive duo. The film has a very smooth, almost dreamy look that feels just right. The footage from Italy, in particular, is brilliant.

Assayas also personally selected the tracks for the film’s top-notch soundtrack. Amongst them are Syd Barrett’s “Terrapin”, The Incredible String Band’s “Air”, Soft Machine’s “Why Are We Sleeping”, Tangerine Dream’s “Sunrise in the Third System”, and Booker T. & the M.G.s’ “Green Onions”.

Something in the Air Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Olivier Assayas' Something in the Air arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Artificial Eye.

There is some very light banding I noticed immediately after the opening credits, but other than that the high-definition transfer is fantastic. A very light yellow filter has been applied to give the film a very appropriate dated look, but depth and clarity are consistently pleasing. Contrast levels are also stable. Colors are lush, warm, and natural. There are no traces of problematic digital corrections. Compression is also very good. There are no serious stability issues to report. When projected, the film remains tight around the edges from start to finish and always looks vibrant. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Something in the Air Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French LPCM 2.0. (with portions of English and Italian). For the record, Artificial Eye have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. Please note that the English dialog isn't subtitled.

There is a serious gap in quality between the two lossless tracks despite the fact that Something in the Air is not a big budget action film. The lossless 5.1 track adds plenty of depth and enhances seemingly unimportant random sounds and noises that dramatically affect the viewing experience. The fantastic soundtrack also benefits a great deal from the lossless treatment. The dialog is consistently crisp, very stable, and always easy to follow. (Despite the accents, the English dialog is also very easy to understand).

Something in the Air Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original theatrical trailer for Something in the Air. In French, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min).

• Making of - in this featurette, director Olivier Assayas explains what motivated him to shoot Something in the Air and discusses some of the film's key themes. Raw footage from the shooting of the film is also included. In French, with optional English subtitles. (20 min).

• Interview - in this video interview, director Olivier Assayas discusses the key ideas, all inspired by different experiences that had on impact on him while growing up, behind Something in the Air. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

Something in the Air Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Something in the Air is the most personal and most fluid film Olivier Assayas has directed to date. I think that the film will resonate will those who remember the events it chronicles as well as with younger viewers who were on the streets of major Eastern European cities when the former Soviet bloc collapsed. Artificial Eye's technical presentation of Something in the Air is fantastic. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.