The Red Squirrel Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		4.0

The Red Squirrel Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov February 1, 2018

Julio Medem's "The Red Squirrel" a.k.a. "La Ardilla Roja" (1993) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of independent distributors Olive Films. There are no supplemental features on the disc. In Spanish, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Your name is Lisa... And we are lovers.

Do you remember Patrice Leconte’s beautiful film The Girl on the Bridge? In it Daniel Auteuii plays an aging knife-thrower who approaches a young girl as she prepares to jump off an old bridge and end her life. He changes her mind and later on she agrees to become his assistant. The two then travel the world and, as the girl rediscovers her passion for life, fall madly in love.

Julio Medem completed his second film, The Red Squirrel, six years earlier and the story it tells is actually quite similar to that of Leconte’s film. It also begins on an old bridge where the disillusioned rock singer Jota (Nacho Novo) is trying to gather the courage to make the decisive move that would end his misery forever. But he fails and moments later while loudly cursing himself collapses on a desolated beach. It is past midnight and there is no one around to witness his frustration. A loud crashing noise then forces Jota to look back at the bridge just as a motorcycle and a body land on the cold sand below it. He rushes to see if the body is intact and when he detects a light twitch realizes that the big black helmet on it has thwarted a horrific tragedy. The motorist turns out to be a beautiful girl (Emma Suarez) who after the crash has lost her memories. She does not remember her name, her age, or anything else that could potentially help Jota and the medics that arrive on the bridge figure out her identity. Days later, even after she is treated by specialists at a local hospital, the girl still struggles to recover her memories.

Someone then suggests that she may never fully recover and Jota takes the biggest risk of his life.

First he tells the staff and then the girl that her name is Lisa and that they are lovers. He carefully ‘reminds’ her of their history and the things that they love to do together. He even kisses her ‘as she likes to be kissed’, hoping that she will begin remembering. And eventually, after Lisa is released from the hospital, the two lovers agree to go to a beautiful holiday camp, The Red Squirrel, where they can be alone and she can concentrate on her recovery.

The rest of the film is full of some spectacular Hitchockian twists -- many of which are unfortunately revealed in older trailers and vintage stills, so for optimum effect it is probably best to avoid all promotional materials for the film that are floating around -- that transform it into quite the roller-coaster. It also oozes that very unique light eroticism that is such an integral part of Medem’s style and makes it virtually impossible to dislike his work (see Sex and Lucía and Room in Rome).

Something else worth pointing out is that even though The Red Squirrel was only Medem’s second feature film it actually has the appearance of a film that would emerge toward the end of a veteran director’s career. It has segments with some truly striking framing choices and equally impressively edited transitions that make it look like a much bigger project than it actually was.

Medem also wrote the lyrics for the two beautiful songs that are heard multiple times throughout the film, “Elisa” and “La Ardilla Roja" (The Red Squirrel). Both are sung by Txetxo Bengoetxea.

The Red Squirrel 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, Julio Medem's The Red Squirrel arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Olive Films.

The quality of the technical presentation is just a tad below that of Bigas Luna's excellent film Jamón Jamón, which is part of the same batch of recent Olive Films titles that includes The Red Squirrel, though you don't have to worry about any major anomalies. Indeed, the release is sourced from an older master that has some limitations and is a tad uneven, but there are no traces of recent compromising digital adjustments. Here are a few of the limitations: Some light black crush occasionally makes its presence felt and trained eyes will notice that some nuances during indoor or darker footage are lost. This is something that is quite common on older masters. The grading has also elevated sporadic highlights, but the overall image balance still remains pleasing. There are a few segments where it becomes obvious that sharpness levels are slightly elevated as well, but again while viewing the film you will not experience any distracting abnormalities. Also, ideally the film should have a better balanced and exposed grain, but the current master is certainly acceptable and even on larger screens the visuals still have plenty of decent depth. It is just not as optimal as it would be with a brand new master that would also introduce a whole range of healthier nuances. Colors are actually good and stable, but once again there is room for meaningful improvements. Image stability is excellent. Lastly, there are no large distracting debris, cuts, damage marks, or stains to report. My score is 3.75/5.00. (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 Red Squirrel Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: Spanish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. Optional English subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The audio is stable and the dialog is very easy to follow. However, I feel that a new remix could introduce and all-around slightly 'thicker' sound. On the other hand, depth and clarity certainly remain pleasing, so perhaps in the past some adjustments were already made. There are no audio dropouts or distortions to report.

The Red Squirrel Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.

The Red Squirrel Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are not familiar with the work of Spanish director Julio Medem -- though I have to believe that at least some folks have seen his beautiful romantic drama Lovers of the Arctic Circle -- I think that The Red Squirrel is the right film to pick up on Blu-ray and begin exploring his filmography. It is a wonderful Hitchcockian thriller with a great style that I guarantee will surprise you in a number of different ways. It is actually one of three early Medem films that Olive Films have just added to their catalog, and all three are very attractively priced. So if you are looking for something fresh to add to your library this month, pick up a copy of The Red Squirrel -- you will see a lovely film and discover a very talented director. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.