Una Vita Tranquilla Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Una Vita Tranquilla Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov August 21, 2011

Claudio Cupellini's "Una vita tranquilla" a.k.a. "A Quiet Life" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors 01 Distribution. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original Italian theatrical trailer and a making of featurette. In Italian and German, with optional English and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-B "locked".

Toni Servillo

The main protagonist in Claudio Cupellini’s Una vita tranquilla a.k.a A Quiet Life is an Italian man (Toni Servillo, Un balcon sur la mer, The Jewel) in his early 50s who lives with his German wife (Juliane Köhler, Aimee & Jaguar, Downfall) and son in Germany. They run a small roadside-inn, less than an hour away from the closest city, with a solid clientele.

The staff is a motley crew of locals, immigrants and friends of the man. The few Italians are always loud and in a good mood, especially at the end of the night, while the Germans and Vietnamese are rather quiet. All of them respect the man because he always treats them right, even when he is having a bad day.

In the middle of an important reception, the man is informed that two Italians would like to see him. Both are in their late 20s, with shaved heads, looking exhausted. Diego (Marco D'Amore), the taller one, asks the man if they could rent a room for the night. Later on, the shorter one, Edoardo (Francesco Di Leva, Iris), asks one of the waitresses to have a drink with him.

Eventually, it is revealed that the Italians are Camorra hitmen, who have been sent to kill a local businessman getting ready to sign a contract that will allow a large German company to enter Naples and solve the city’s garbage crisis.

There is enough material in A Quiet Life for two films. On one hand, director Cupellini effectively explains why the infamous garbage crisis that paralyzed the city of Naples in 2010 could not be resolved quickly and effectively - the Camorra was benefiting from it and would not allow the local government to step up. Private contractors who did not work with the mafia but wanted to help were also kept out of the city.

The second story the film tells is about a family facing a difficult dilemma. After the Camorra hitmen arrive, fascinating secrets and relationships are brought to light and suddenly everything begins to make sense. As a result, during the final third of the film there are some terrific characters transformations that change the entire complexion of the story.

The atmosphere is incredibly tense, rivaling that of Matteo Garrone’s Gomorrah. There are long and quiet sequences that also remind about Paolo Sorrentino’s The Consequences of Love, another terrific film also with Servillo, who again plays a man leading a double life.

Hungarian cinematographer Gergely Pohárnok’s (Hukkle, Taxidermia) preference for cold gray and blue colors is most appropriate. Giuseppe Trepiccione’s editing is also top-notch, allowing the film to move at a steady tempo and keeping the melodrama out of it. The film is also complimented by an excellent ambient soundtrack courtesy of composer and sound designer Teho Teardo, who has previously contributed to such acclaimed films as Paolo Sorrentino’s The Family Friend and Il Divo, and Andrea Molaioli’s The Girl by the Lake.

Note: In 2010, A Quiet Life premiered at the Rome International Film Festival. Earlier this year, the film was nominated for four David di Donatello Awards, including Best Film and Best Director, and awarded the Guglielmo Biraghi Prize (Francesco Di Leva) by the Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists.

Una Vita Tranquilla Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Claudio Cupellini's A Quiet Life arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Italian distributors 01 Distribution.

Aside from a few scattered small artifacts, the high-definition transfer is rather impressive. The image is consistently crisp and clear, with selected sequences looking as if they were borrowed from a recent documentary film about the Camorra. Detail is outstanding, especially during the daylight scenes. Color reproduction is also very pleasing -- Gergely Pohárnok's preference for cold gray and blue colors is not only appropriate, but amongst the film's most striking features. Edge-enhancement is never an issue of concern. There are no traces of overzealous sharpening either. Finally, there are no stability issues to report in this review. (Note: This is a Region-B "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-B or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

Una Vita Tranquilla Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Italian Dolby Digital 5.1 (with portions of German). For the record, 01 Distribution have provided optional English and Italian SDH subtitles for the main feature.

The Italian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is excellent. The bass and rear channels rarely come alive, but when they do, they indeed very effective (a good example is the execution scene). Teho Teardo's moody soundtrack also benefits from the loseless treatment, especially during the second half of the film. The dialog is exceptionally crisp, clean, stable, and easy to follow. For the record, there are no pops, cracks, or problematic audio dropouts. The English translation is excellent.

Una Vita Tranquilla Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Trailer - the original Italian theatrical trailer for A Quiet Life. In Italian, not subtitled. (2 min, PAL).

• Making of - a standard featurette with raw footage from the shooting of A Quiet Life. The featurette also contains short comments by director Claudio Cupellini and various cast and crew members. In Italian, not subtitled. (9 min, PAL).

Una Vita Tranquilla Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I really enjoyed Claudio Cupellini's A Quiet Life. It is everything a modern crime film should be - entertaining, thought-provoking, grounded in reality. I truly hope that a local distributor will manage to release it on this side of the Atlantic. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of Italian distributors 01 Distribution, looks and sounds great. It is, however, Region-B "locked". HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.