Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		1.5
Overall		4.0

The Lunchbox Blu-ray Movie Review

Nourishment for the soul.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 3, 2014

The Lunchbox isn't about food. Writer/Director Ritesh Batra's film focuses on the chance "meeting" of two strangers, people living at different points in their lives, brought together by a shared understanding of life's challenges that is facilitated by a pinch of fate in the greater recipe of life. It's a beautifully simple film with a story facilitated by superbly developed characters wading waist-deep in life, she an ignored housewife trying to rekindle her marriage and he a widower leading a lonely existence that seems only propelled by the movement of time rather than a push towards a goal or a reason to go on. The effortlessly simple exteriors are further shaped by the significantly more complex, but relatable, interiors that are fleshed out through the written words between unseen soul mates of sorts. The film's expert craftsmanship and precision acting allow the audience to literally feel the narrative build and the characters grow, a rarity in cinema but something accomplished with ease here. The audience will come to know, understand, and care for the characters as their written relationship grows to explore their lives, their pains, their hopes, and their growing bond not in the physical but rather in the emotional realm. This is one of 2013's finest films.

What's this?

Ila (Nimrat Kaur) is a stay-at-home wife and mother whose marriage is less than ideal. Her husband is frequently too busy with work to pay her any notice, and she's resorted to winning him back through his stomach rather than his heart. With her aunt's help, she cooks him up some delicious lunches that she sends to him through a food delivery service. Little does she know that it's Saajan (Irrfan Khan), a 35-year veteran office drone, that's accidentally receiving her food instead of the lower-quality stuff he orders from a nearby kitchen. It doesn't take long for them to figure out that the deliveries are mixed up. They begin communicating via handwritten note inside the lunchbox, leading them to reveal their dreams, regrets, and deepest secrets to one another. Meanwhile, Saajan, who is a month away from early retirement, has been tasked with training his replacement, a somewhat unreliable and quirky young man named Shaikh (Nawazuddin Siddiqui).

The Lunchbox effortlessly captures the imagination with its simple premise and relatable characters, but it's well beyond the surface where the film truly shines. There's a light air of mystery about the characters that slowly dissolves over the course of the film through their writings and burgeoning relationship, but it's not just a string of personal revelations that help the film along. Instead, it's how compatible the characters feel, even via a relationship built entirely on the mistaken delivery of tasty food and the letters that follow in the full to him and empty to her lunch container. The actors are remarkably good, efficiently building the characters in the superficial but also further shaping them in the very slight but unmistakable and critical glances and inward reflections and sense of anticipation they display as they await the arrival or return of the lunchbox. She in her kitchen and he in his office and the office's lunchroom serve as the primary locations, and despite the mostly static nature of the environments, there's a wealth of characterization and movement going on within the characters, movement that's reflected even in the most still of moments.

Certainly, the film's primary theme is one that deals in fate, and it deals in it in a way that's unexpectedly unique from the norm. In these sorts of films, comedies of errors tend to follow the characters and build towards a predictable happily-ever-after sort of scenario that's a dime a dozen and emotionally vacant after seeing it for the umpteenth time. Even movies that are somewhat similar in nature, like the affable Letters to Juliet, never quite find much more underneath beyond core emotional notes that so many other movies have struck before. In The Lunchbox, the themes serve a different purpose -- without spoiling where the film and the characters go with them -- along the path fate has laid before them. It's a path even Harvard graduates and the King of England himself could not have foreseen, because the delivery service, as the delivery man himself states, makes no mistakes, comically reinforcing the themes of the unseen bond and the invisible guiding hand of destiny leading the characters towards...well, towards a future better left for and deciphered by each viewer rather than spoiled in a review.

The Lunchbox Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Lunchbox features a 1080p transfer sourced from a digital shoot. The film exhibits some classic signs of digital, including mild flatness and a noticeably glossy surface. Nevertheless, the picture appears immaculate. It's naturally sharp and clean, precise and very well detailed across the board. From well worn surfaces around Ila's kitchen and across Saajan's office to the everyday wear on the outer lunch container, the variety of surfaces and objects seen within the film offer the sort of visually articulate accuracies that make Blu-ray a gem of a home theater delivery service. More precise textures on well-pressed attire and complex facial features are also strongly realized in every scene. Colors more than satisfy, appearing vibrant and accurate without coming across as loud or over-exaggerated. There's a beautiful balance to the many varieties of colors seen across the film's primary locations, with special recognition reserved for a more colorful wardrobe selection worn by Shaikh later in the film. Flesh tones never appear to betray natural shades, and black levels are firm despite a few shots appearing slightly out of order towards a paler appearance. Despite a few very minor reservations, this rates as another beautiful presentation all around from Sony.

The Lunchbox Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Lunchbox delivers a deliciously active and balanced DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The Hindi presentation (optional subtitle selections are included, with "English" defaulted to the "on" position) excels in every area. Dialogue is the primary component and plays clearly and accurately from the front-center, whether open communication or overlaid letter reading. The track does feature some music that enjoys a crisp, robust, even delivery and spacing. Much of the track enjoys active, well-spaced, and immersive support environmental sound effects. Whether busses rumbling about, driving rain drenching the stage over the opening titles, general office din, or something as simple as a spinning overhead fan, the track frequently brings its environments to life with plenty of space-filling and place-defining elements. This is a terrific soundtrack all around.

The Lunchbox Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Lunchbox contains an audio commentary track and the film's theatrical trailer. A DVD copy is included in the case.

• Audio Commentary: Writer/Director Ritesh Batra opens with a synopsis of the film and moves on to discuss the history of the lunchbox delivery service, the picture's underlying themes, picture structure, characters and performances, prop design, technical details of the filmmaking process, and much more. This is an excellent, well-spoken, informative, and detailed track that fans of the film, and film and its deeper purposes in particular, will love.
• The Lunchbox Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:05).
• Previews (1080i/1080p): Additional Sony titles.

The Lunchbox Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Lunchbox is a beautiful film, grounded in its outward simplicity but brought to life by its gloriously deep characters and tight yet accessible narrative structure. It's supported by a terrifically balanced and detailed script, faultless performances from the trio of lead characters, and wonderfully simplistic yet highly effective direction. This is a film -- and a life -- lover's film, a feel-good yet down-deep and emotionally detailed masterpiece that's one of the 2013's best films and a disappointing snub from Oscar contention. Sony's Blu-ray release of The Lunchbox features fantastic video and strong, active audio. The absence of a wider supplemental section is disappointing, but based on the film alone and the supportive video and audio qualities, this is hands-down one of the better releases of 2014 so far. The Lunchbox earns my highest recommendation.