Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

The Lover Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 7, 2015

Nominated for Oscar for Best Cinematography, Jean-Jacques Annaud's "L'amant" a.k.a. "The Lover" (1992) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; new audio commentary with the French director recorded exclusively for the new 4K restoration of his film; archival making of featurette; archival conversation with Marguerite Duras et Jean-Jacques Annaud; collection of stills from the film; and more. In English and French, with imposed French subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Jane March

Indochina, the 1920s. A teenage French girl encounters a handsome Chinese man who has just returned home after years of living in Paris. The two are immediately attracted to each other but afraid to make a move -- the man feels that it isn’t right while the girl is simply confused. So, they part ways.

They see each other again in Saigon, where the girl attends a boarding school. Soon after, they begin meeting in a room in a poor area of the city. There, they make love and talk about the things that make them different -- the color of their skin, their experiences, their social status.

The more the girl and the man learn about each other, the more they begin to realize that there is no future for their relationship. He could not possibly marry her because she is white and has already made love to him. She can’t marry him because her family would never accept him. (Later on, during a casual dinner, it is made clear why). Understanding that eventually they will have to part ways, the two succumb to their carnal desires.

The open relationship, however, evolves in a way that surprises the lovers. Naturally, the man begs his father to allow him to marry the girl. But he refuses and instead sets a date for his wedding to a young and rich Chinese woman whom the man does not love. The girl, who understands that the end of their relationship is near, asks the man to see her one more time before he gets married.

Based on Marguerite Duras’ novel, Jean-Jacques Annaud’s The Lover is a beautiful romantic film about pure, unbridled passion. But because the film does not produce any ‘serious’ statements about love -- and what these serious statements could have been I would never know -- most American critics hated it with a passion. (For a strange take on the film, read Washington Post staff writer Rita Kempley’s review, in which she describes it as "coffee-table pornography").

My take on the film is simple: It is about two people who become attracted to each other, fall in love -- yes, as strange as it may sound, you could fall in love with someone after you make love to him/her, not before -- and then part ways because both understand that they met in the wrong place at the wrong time. Yes, the film is explicit, but when real people make love, ‘explicit’ usually happens.

The feelings and emotions the lovers struggle with are also beyond credible. Both are unsure what to expect because the age difference between them is too big; the man is uncertain, even feeling guilty, while the girl is confused but at the same time willing to experiment. Is this enough for a long-lasting romantic story? Why not, the most intense love stories are usually the ones that just happen, not the ones that need to be planned. In my experience, the ‘serious’ also usually comes later on. In the beginning there is only attraction, very similar to the one that the man and the girl experience.

March is excellent as the young, curious and brittle girl who has to make important decisions. The character transformation she undergoes after she begins seeing the Chinese man is indeed very convincing. Leung, who looks incredibly stylish in his white suits, is also outstanding as the lover who gets his heart broken.

The film is beautifully lensed by Robert Fraisse (Enemy at the Gates) and complemented by yet another terrific score by the great Gabriel Yared (Betty Blue, Camille Claudel).

The Lover 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, Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Lover arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of French label Pathe.

The Lover was initially released on Blu-ray in Germany and I thought that the technical presentation was decent enough to easily recommend the release to fans of the film that wanted to upgrade their DVD releases (on the old R1 and R2 releases there was plenty of room for important improvements). However, Pathe's new Blu-ray release of The Lover, which uses as a foundation a brand new 4K restoration of the film, is vastly superior. Indeed, not only are detail and clarity dramatically improved, but color reproduction is also a lot more convincing. Many of the outdoor close-ups and panoramic shots, for instance, now look strikingly crisp and vibrant, and, more importantly, image depth is consistently far more pleasing (see screencaptures #2, 4, and 17). The most striking improvements, however, are during sequences where light is restricted. On the German release these were the weakest areas and more often than it was quite easy to see the limitations of the old master that was used to produce it (compare screencapture #15 with screencapture #18 from our review of the German release). Furthermore, there are no traces of problematic degraining or sharpening adjustments. Predictably, the light grain is beautifully resolved and evenly distributed throughout the entire film. There are no serious stability issues. Lastly, there are no debris, scratches, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report in this review. The encoding is also very good. To sum it all up, Pathe's new restoration of The Lover is indeed very beautiful and I have to speculate that it will remain the film's definitive presentation on the home video market. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

The Lover Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Also included is a French Descriptive Audio DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track. For the record, Pathe have provided imposed French SDH subtitles for the main feature. (The subtitles cannot be turned off via the main menu or with the remote control, but they are in fact generated by the player).

The lossless English track is outstanding, but I have to mention that I would have preferred to have a 2.0 track included as well. Still, it is easy to tell that the audio has been remastered as depth is excellent and Gabriel Yared's beautiful score breathes even easier than it does on the German release. I also noticed that the high-frequencies are slightly better defined. The dialog is very crisp, stable, and easy to follow.

The Lover Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Le film annonce restaure HD en VOST - restored original trailer for The Lover. In English, with imposed French subtitles. (2 min).

• Le film annonce instrumental - original trailer for The Lover featuring only the main theme from Gabriel Yared's beautiful score. (1 min).

• Making of - a standard featurette with plenty of footage from the shooting of the film, various cast and crew interviews, notes on the production history of the film, etc. In English and French. (52 min, PAL).

• Entretien entre Marguerite Duras et Jean-Jacques Annaud - presented here is a filmed archival conversation with novelist Marguerite Duras and director Jean-Jacques Annaud. In French, not subtitled. (13 min).

• Rusbes inedits - presented here is raw footage from the shooting of the key sequences from The Lover. With music only. (9 min).

• Les visuels du film - a collection of stills from the film. With music. (6 min).

• Photos de reperage - a collection of production stills. With music. (7 min).

• Marguerite Duras et Jane March - a collection of stills with Jane March showing different editions of Marguerite Duras' beautiful novel. With music.

• Audio Commentary - a brand new audio commentary with director Jean-Jacques Annaud recorded exclusively for Pathe's new 4K restoration of The Lover. In French, not subtitled.

The Lover Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Pathe's new 4K restoration of Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Lover is very beautiful. I think that the film now truly looks as good as it should and there is absolutely no doubt in my mind that this new restoration will also remain its definitive presentation on the home video market. Pathe's release comes with imposed French subtitles for the original English audio track, but this was more than likely a contractual obligation for the Blu-ray to be Region-Free. Hopefully, Cohen Media or Criterion will bring the restoration to the U.S. (with the new audio commentary) so that fans of the film here can see it as well. Bravo Pathe! VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.