Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Lure Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 14, 2017

Winner of Eagle Award for Discovery of the Year at the Polish Film Awards, Agnieszka Smoczynska's "The Lure" (2015) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include an original trailer for the film; collection of deleted scenes; the documentary film "Off the Hook", featuring cast and crew interviews; and two early short films directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska. The release also arrives with an illustrated leaflet featuring Angela Lovell's essay "One is Silver and the Other Gold" and technical credits. In Polish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Different performers

The last time I saw a film that was as wild as Agnieszka Smoczynska’s The Lure was exactly ten years ago. It was Taiwanese auteur Tsai Ming-liang’s The Wayward Cloud, which is one of those rare films that basically makes you feel good about the future of cinema. It is so bold yet so charming that you just cannot but admire the vision and brilliance of the people that conceived it. The Lure had the exact same effect on me. I loved its macho style -- how ironic is this? -- and after the final credits rolled it felt pretty good to know that the superheroes still have some work to do if they wish to rule the cinematic universe.

The film is set in Warsaw during the 1980s, which is a city of incredible contrasts. On one hand you have a sea of busy restaurants and night clubs making it painfully obvious that the city is slowly recovering from decades of economic stagnation. At night, from afar the well-lit areas almost make it look like any other big Western European capital. But as the bright neon lights begin to disappear the spirit of the old communist capital emerges from the shadows -- the streets become dark and dirty, eerily quiet and depressing, just as they really were while the generals in Kremlin pulled the strings of the Polish communist leaders.

Somewhere between the glitzy and seediest parts of the city, the aging owner of a cheap cabaret hires two young sirens to wow his clients. And these sirens turn out to be the real deal. From afar Srebrna (Marta Mazurek) and Zlota (Michalina Olszanska) look like normal girls, but they smell like fish and in a manner of seconds can reveal their giant tails. Then the two begin performing with the beautiful singer Krysia (Kinga Preis) and the cabaret quickly becomes one of the hottest attractions in the city -- or at least amongst those looking for a different, slightly kinky type of entertainment.

The rest basically mimics what The Wayward Cloud does. The main story about the two sirens and their experiences inside and outside of the cabaret continues to evolve, but now there are numerous very interesting music numbers that would be perfect for an avant-garde musical. There is some pretty wild but very nicely choreographed material here. Also, while The Wayward Cloud adds a big dose of humor to the sex scenes, this film goes in the opposite direction and spices things up with a splash of horror. (Here’s another interesting similarity: there is a music scene in The Wayward Cloud where Lee Kang-sheng crawls out of the water and he actually looks like a sea creature of some sort that could be related to the sirens).

The Lure is very clearly not for everyone, but if you enjoy seeing what-just-happened-here type of mind-benders loaded with symbolism that are also unafraid to plough through piles of traditional clichés that ‘safe’ and ‘normal’ films rely on, you don’t want to miss it. It is one of the most original films to emerge from the former Soviet Bloc in a very long time.

Smoczynska made her directorial debut with The Lure in 2015, and since then has won numerous awards at prestigious festivals around the world. Her next film, Fuga, is scheduled to be released in 2018. She is also contributing to the crowdfunded horror anthology The Field Guide to Evil.

The Lure Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Agnieszka Smoczynska's The Lure arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the leaflet provided with this Blu-ray release:

"The film was shot with an ARRI ALEXA camera in ARRIRAW format (3.2K) and the production was completed in a fully digital workflow. The DPX files were color-corrected in 2K resolution on an Audiodesk Lustre. This film features a fully digital soundtrack. The 5.1 surround audio for the release was mastered at 24-bit from the original audio master files using Pro Tools HD.

Transfer supervisor: Kuba Kijowski.
Colorist: Ewa Chudzik/WFDiF, Warsaw."

The film looks stunning in high-definition. It it is strikingly sharp with wonderful fluidity and a tremendous range of rich colors. A lot of the nicely-lit footage from the cabaret is basically what I would point out as 'reference material', but the darker footage also boasts incredible depth. Obviously, because the film was shot with the ALEXA camera image balance is very impressive as well. There are no basic stability issues or encoding anomalies to report. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).

The Lure Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Polish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The film has a fully digital soundtrack, so the lossless track is essentially an exact replica of it. The audio is very clean, sharp, and with a strong range of nuanced dynamics. I think that the music numbers benefit the most, but there are a few action sequences where dynamic intensity is also impressive. There are no audio dropouts or digital distortions to report.

The Lure Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - original trailer for The Lure. In Polish, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scenes - a collection of deleted scenes. In Polish, with optional English subtitles.
  
  1. Alternate Opening (4 min, 1080p).
  2. Drunk (4 min, 1080p).
  3. Contortionist (1 min, 1080p).
  4. Loop (7 min, 1080p).
  5. Policewoman (2 min, 1080p).
  6. Alternate ending (1 min, 1080p).

• Off the Hook - this documentary film focuses on the production history of The Lure and the final style, appearance, and soundtrack of the film. Included in it are lengthy interviews with director Agnieszka Smoczynska, screenwriter Robert Bolesto, actors Marta Mazurek and Michalina Olszanska, sound designer Marcin Lenarczyk, cinematographer Kuba Kijowski, music composers Barbara and Zuzanna Wronskie, and choreographer Kaya Kolodziejczyk. In Polish, with optional English subtitles. (42 min, 1080p).

• Aria Diva (2007) - presented here is Agnieszka Smoczynska's first short film, which she directed while attending the Wajda School in Warsaw. Based on the story "Ariadne on Naxos" by Olga Tokarczuk, the film follows a young mother and wife (Gabriela Muskala) whose life nearly spins out of control when she befriends her neighbor, a popular opera singer (Katarzyna Figura). In Polish, with optional English subtitles. (32 min, 1080p).

• Viva Maria! (2010) - presented here is Agnieszka Smoczynska's documentary short Viva Maria! about opera the great Polish opera diva Maria Foltyn. The documentary was completed while the director attended the Wajda School in Warsaw. In Polish, optional English subtitles. (18 min, 1080i).

• Leaflet - an illustrated leaflet featuring Angela Lovell's essay "One is Silver and the Other Gold" and technical credits.

The Lure Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

When Agnieszka Smoczynska mentions in one of the documentaries that are included on this release that the two sirens in The Lure essentially represent her generation, the thirty-somethings, which experienced the ugliness and absurdity of communism as well as the unbearable frustration and anger that were inseparable parts of it, I know exactly what she means. Her brilliant directorial debut is a reminder of that almost surreal reality of extreme contrasts that Poland was forced to endure while being part of the now defunct Soviet Bloc, and in a way a very unique warning not to forget it. Of course, it is also one utterly wild and entertaining film that has introduced to the world a young director with an incredible imagination and style. The Lure is one of my favorite releases this year, and I will definitely be placing it on my Top 10 list in December. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.