6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Summer of 1943. In an occupied France, not far away from the Spanish border, a famous old sculptor who is tired of life and wars finds the desire to work on his last masterpiece when a beautiful young Spanish girl comes knocking after escaping a refugee camp in the South of France.
Starring: Jean Rochefort, Claudia Cardinale, Chus Lampreave, Aida Folch, Götz OttoDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Is there really any way to quantify inspiration, to somehow understand the urge to create Art (in any medium) as somehow palpable, measurable data points? Of course not—and that’s one of the most salient reasons that the artistic pursuits of Mankind seem so impenetrable. There have been a lot of philosophers from the dawn of time who have offered the opinion that these creative impulses stand as a bulwark against mortality, a kind of built in genetic predisposition to scream at the universe, “Hey! I was here!” How, then, to understand when inspiration takes a holiday of sorts, leaving any given artist without the impetus to forge something new? The Artist and the Model, a lovely if perhaps too understated exploration of an aging sculptor-painter’s reinvigoration courtesy of a young muse whom he starts to sketch (and ultimately paint and sculpt), doesn’t really provide any cogent answers to these questions, but they linger just underneath the finely observed interactions that make up the bulk of the film. Co-writer Fernando Trueba is one of the protean forces of the Spanish film industry, having helmed such widely disparate pieces as the Academy Award winning Belle Epoque and the Academy Award nominated Chico & Rita). The Artist and the Model is considerably quieter and smaller than some of Trueba’s previous outings, but it’s no less satisfying if taken on its own terms. The film has an interesting though never preachy political subtext (it’s set during World War II and also deals with the after effects of the Spanish Civil War), but the core of the story is the unfolding relationship between aging painter Marc Cros (Jean Rochefort) and Mercè (Aida Folch), the young woman who takes up residence in his isolated home and studio, ultimately giving the elderly man a reason to live—and to create.
The Artist and the Model is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This black and white film was lensed by Daniel Vilar with the Arri Alexa system. While some may yearn for a more organic film-like appearance with a story like this, the results here are often incredibly lustrous, with finely modulated gray scale and some beautifully realized framings which capture an incredible spectrum of light and shadow. The play of light is very important to the look of this film, and this transfer's excellent contrast and resolute black levels help to create some really appealing dappling effects. Depth of field is also very good in the many outdoor scenes. No areas of major concern are evident in this transfer.
Though The Artist and the Model is "officially" a Spanish film, the spoken language here is actually French, delivered on this Blu-ray via a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The surround activity here is mostly limited to ambient environmental noise, with a nice, if subtle, evocation of the countryside surrounding the Cros villa. This is obviously a character driven, "small" film which does not offer huge opportunities for bombastic immersion. Dialogue is very cleanly presented and the track presents no problems of any kind.
The Artist and the Model is a film which fairly screams Art House Cinema, as unintentionally ironic as that may be. Those who don't mind slow moving, character based dramas will most likely love this film. There are a couple of minor distractions here that Trueba and his co-writer Jean-Claude Carrière throw into the mix that strictly speaking are not integral to the central story of the aging sculptor and his new muse, but there is a lot to admire, and perhaps even love, in this quiet, unassuming portrait (pun intended) of an artist as a very old man. While the supplements on this Blu-ray are rather slight, the technical merits are first rate, and The Artist and the Model comes Highly recommended.
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