Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Tetro Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 29, 2010

Screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Francis Ford Coppola's "Tetro" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Soda Pictures. The supplemental features on the disc include a conversation with cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr., a video piece with Francis Ford Coppola discussing the ballet sequences in his film; extended cast and crew list; and video piece featuring composer Osvaldo Golijov. In Spanish and English, with optional English subtitles for the Spanish dialog. Region-B "locked".

Let's talk about secrets

There are some interesting similarities between Francis Ford Coppola’s Tetro and Luis Puenzo’s La puta y la ballena (The Whore and the Whale). Both are set in beautiful Argentina. In both films the main protagonists uncover family secrets that irreversibly change their lives. In both films music and memories play very important roles.

Tetro, however, tells us much more about its creator than La puta y la ballena does - there is a personal story behind its story. Most of it remains veiled in secrecy though, which is why Tetro has frustrated a lot of people. I find this rather sad. Even though there are more than a few exceptions, films are not meant to be confessions. In the age of ‘reality’ shows, however, I suspect there are some people that expect them to be.

Tetro (Vincent Gallo, Buffalo '66, The Brown Bunny) has left his wealthy family in America and relocated to Buenos Aires. He lives with his lover, Miranda (Maribel Verdu, Y Tu Mama Tambien, La zona), a beautiful dancer, who adores him. Both have been in difficult relationships before, but Tetro has suffered more - which is why Tetro and Miranda have agreed not to talk about his past.

Bennie (Alden Ehrenreich, Twixt Now and Sunrise), Tetro’s much younger brother who works as a waiter on a giant cruise liner, unexpectedly shows up in Buenos Aires. Instead of greeting him with open arms, however, Tetro becomes angry. Bennie is a big part of Tetro’s past, which he has been trying very hard to forget. But Miranda welcomes the boy and invites him to stay with them until the cruise liner gets repaired. Bennie tries to talk to Tetro but he repeatedly pushes him away. When Miranda confronts him, he goes berserk.

Meanwhile, Bennie uncovers an unfinished play by Tetro and begins reading it. But Miranda sees him and immediately warns him not to go through Tetro’s old writings because they apparently reveal plenty he does not want to be reminded of - which is exactly why Bennie finishes the play and submits it to a local festival run by Argentina’s most prominent critic, 'Alone' (Carmen Maura, Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown).

Tetro is structured as a giant mosaic made up of scattered pieces equating painful memories. By the time the final credits roll, Coppola has all of them aligned properly, but the picture is anything but complete. There are vague references all over Tetro suggesting that some of the painful memories Gallo’s character struggles with actually belong to someone else. Which of these memories belongs to Coppola is difficult to tell. Last year, at the Cannes Film Festival, where Tetro was first screened, he simply noted that “nothing in it happened, but it’s all true”.

Coppola’s first original script since The Conversation (1974), Tetro is a breathtakingly beautiful film. Shot in glorious black and white, with sporadic color sequences for the memory flashbacks, among other things the film is also an impressive homage to the genius of Fellini, Renoir, and Powell and Pressburger (Tetro actually contains small excerpts from The Tales of Hoffman).

The acting is excellent. Gallo exudes terrific confidence and really transforms the entire film from a small family drama to something much more special. Ehrenreich, who very much looks like a young Leonardo DiCaprio, is also excellent as Tetro’s younger brother. As always, Verdu is simply beautiful to look at.

Note: Earlier this year, Tetro was nominated for CEC Award for Best Actress (Maribel Verdu) by the Cinema Writers Circle in Spain and Goya Award for Best Actress.

Tetro Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 (except for the memory flashbacks), encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Soda Pictures.

Soda Pictures' high-definition transfer is not identical to the one used by Lionsgate Films in the United States for their Blu-ray release of Tetro. Soda Pictures' high-definition transfer is notably darker and with a different color-scheme. The blacks are a lot stronger, the grays heavier, and the reds and blues richer. Generally speaking, the indoor and outdoor scenes also have a much heavier look that occasionally feels a bit overwhelming, though I actually like it more than the lighter look of the Lionsgate Films release. Fine object detail is exceptionally strong and clarity pleasing. There are numerous terrific close-ups of Vincent Gallo, Alden Ehrenreich, and especially the Spanish beauty Maribel Verdu, as well as striking panoramic vistas from Buenos Aires and Patagonia. There are no serious stability issues. Aside from a few minor compression artifacts, I also did not see any purely transfer-specific anomalies to report in this review. All in all, Tetro looks very beautiful on Blu-ray. (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).

Tetro Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS 2.0 (with portions of Spanish). For the record, Soda Pictures have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature, which appear only when Spanish is spoken. When turned on, they split the image frame and the black bar below it.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. The bass is potent and punchy, the rear channels very impressively utilized, and the high-frequencies not overdone. The two key scenes in Tetro (both flashbacks) are indeed very intense, so I suggest keeping your remote control next to you. It is Osvaldo Golijov's beautiful soundtrack, however, that benefits the most from the loseless treatment - the sax and guitar solos sound absolutely fantastic. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. Lastly, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or audio dropouts to report in this review. For the record, I quickly tested a couple of scenes with the English DTS 2.0 track. Suffice to say, there is absolutely no need to experiment with it - the gap in quality between the English DTS 2.0 track and the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is enormous.

Tetro Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Ballet feature - Francis Ford Coppola discusses the importance of the ballet scenes in Tetro, his collaboration with choreographer Ana Maria Stekelman, the influence The Red Shoes and The Tales of Hoffmann had on him, etc. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080i).

• Mihai Malaimare Jr.: The Cinematography of Tetro featurette - cinematographer Mihai Malaimare Jr. discusses his work on Tetro, as well as some of the specific ideas and requirements Francis Ford Coppola had before shooting began. The video piece also contains raw footage from the filming of Tetro. In English, not subtitled. (9 min, 1080i).

• Osvaldo Golijov: Music Born From the Film featurette - a look at the wonderful soundtrack of Tetro. The video piece contains various comments by composer Osvaldo Golijov. In English, not subtitled. (10 min, 1080i).

• Cast of Characters - an extended look at the cast and crew of Tetro. (4 min, 1080i).

Tetro Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Contrary to what some local critics have claimed, Francis Ford Coppola's Tetro is a very impressive, beautifully lensed and terrifically acted film. If for some reason you have ignored it, I encourage you to see it as soon as you possibly can. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British newcomers Soda Pictures, looks good and sounds outstanding. I am so excited to see Soda Pictures finally enter the Blu-ray market as they have a tremendous catalog of contemporary films. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.