Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Vinyan: Lost Souls Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov November 11, 2009

Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz’s first English-language film "Vinyan: Lost Souls" (2008) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Revolver Entertainment. Unfortunately, the film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 to 1.78:1. There are absolutely no supplemental features on this disc. Without optional English subtitles. Region-Free.

Paranoid

It is quite possible that Belgian director Fabrice Du Welz’s Vinyan: Lost Souls would turn out to be the discovery of the year for me. Poorly marketed by its distributors and badly misinterpreted by a number of critics, this is a film that absolutely transcends genre limitations, which is undoubtedly the reason why many have had a difficult time deconstructing it.

Jeanne (Emmanuelle Beart, La belle noiseuse) and Paul (Rufus Sewell, Dark City) have lost their only son in a terrible tsunami disaster. Time has passed, and they rarely mention the tragedy anymore, but both know that the other constantly thinks about it.

During a charity event in Thailand, Jeanne sees a documentary film about orphans living in Burma and convinces herself that one of the children in the film is her son. Skeptical at first, Paul contacts a local trafficker, Thaksin Gao (Petch Osathanugrah), and arranges a trip to Burma, where the film was supposedly shot.

The journey through the jungle is horrific. Jeanne slowly begins to lose her mind, while Paul questions his decision to trust her instincts. At the same time, Thaksin Gao and one of his captains decide to extort the couple and force them to turn against each other.

Fabrice Du Welz’s Vinyan: Lost Souls reminded me about two other powerful European films - Michael Haneke’s Time of the Wolf and Claire Denis’ L’intrus. It drains you emotionally; it completely distorts your perceptions about reality and then leaves you pondering what it means to remain human when tragedy has struck. Yes, Vinyan: Lost Souls is a horror film, but it is not the flashy type of horror you would see in Hollywood produced films; it is the type of horror that quietly enters your mind when hope invites it.

The story is practically unimportant - the exotic locations and dialog mean little. Vinyan: Lost Souls just as easily could have been a dialog-free film, and it would have had exactly the same impact on those who understand what it is that it attempts to convey. Also, the main characters have virtually no identities whatsoever, but this is intentional, as the film effectively walks the fine line between reality and illusion, which a tortured mind could rarely distinguish from one another.

In Thai culture, Vinyan is an angry ghost, one that has suffered terribly and lost its way. In the film, the two protagonists become ghosts - they suffer, turn against each other and lose their way. Eventually, pain destroys them from the inside out.

In 2004, director Fabrice Du Welz caused quite a furor with his stylishly lensed horror picture Calvaire. As a result, many were looking forward to his next project, Vinyan: Lost Souls, which premiered four years later at the Venice Film Festival. Vinyan: Lost Souls, however, is not as straightforward of a film as Calvaire is, and this has apparently inspired many who expected it to be to dismiss it as not living up to the expectations.

I disagree. This film is everything a modern horror picture should be – it tricks your mind and lets it be in control with the scary. You know, there isn’t a single director that could capture on film the type of horror your mind is capable of unleashing. You just need to let it know that you are ready to be entertained, and then think about what you see!

Vinyan: Lost Souls boasts a terrific ambient soundtrack courtesy of François Eudes, whose original scores are featured in such films as Gilles Marchand's Who Killed Bambi?, Alexandre Aja's Switchblade Romance, and Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury's Inside.

Vinyan: Lost Souls Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Fabrice Du Welz's Vinyan: Lost Souls arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Revolver Entertainment.

I have not seen Vinyan: Lost Souls theatrically, but I suspect that the organic look the transfer reveals is intentional. There is plenty of shaky hand-held camera footage (quite similar to what one would see in Wong Kar Wai's early films), as well as drained of color scenes that enhance the overall very moody tone of the film quite well. Detail varies greatly - especially when the main protagonists enter Burma - as does clarity. Additionally, many of the close-ups reveal a good dose of grain, occasionally mixed with mild video digital noise. Finally, I did not detect any overly disturbing scratches, debris, or dirt plaguing the transfer. Unfortunately, however, I must report that Vinyan: Lost Souls does not appear on Blu-ray in its original aspect ratio - Revolver Entertainment have cropped it from 2.39:1 to 1.78:1 (which is rather surprising, given that the Belgian and German Blu-ray releases of the film apparently retain its OAR). (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 or SA regardless of your geographical location).

Vinyan: Lost Souls Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two audio tracks on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English LPCM 2.0. I opted for the English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track and later on did a few random comparisons with the English LPCM 2.0 track for the purpose of this review.

The English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track found on this Blu-ray disc will not test the muscles of your audio system, but will surely impress those of you who pay close attention to detail. Once the main protagonists enter the jungles of Burma, there are a variety of excellent audio effects that enhance the overall moody tone of the film incredibly well (distant howls, heavy rain, winds blowing, etc). On the other hand, aside from a few of the more action-oriented scenes, your sub will remain mostly inactive. The dialog is crisp, clear and easy to follow.

The English LPCM 2.0 track does a good job of allowing one to follow the film, but many of the special effects mentioned above are far less noticeable on it (the howls, in particular, are rather weak). Still, the dialog remains crisp and easy to follow.

For the record, Revolver Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

Vinyan: Lost Souls Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are absolutely no supplemental features to be found on this Blu-ray disc whatsoever.

Vinyan: Lost Souls Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unlike most every other critic out there, I enjoyed director Fabrice Du Welz's Vinyan: Lost Souls enormously. I thought that it was incredibly well executed, truly transcending the limitations of its genre. Unfortunately, I am unable to wholeheartedly recommend this Blu-ray disc to you - for some unknown to me reason, the film has been cropped from its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1 to 1.78:1. I would do my best to obtain a copy of the German release of Vinyan: Lost Souls, which apparently retains the film's original aspect ratio, and provide a review for it.