Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

White Material Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov March 18, 2011

Nominated for Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival, Claire Denis' "White Material" (2009) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion. The supplemental features on the disc include the film's original theatrical trailer; three exclusive interviews with director Claire Denis and actors Isabelle Huppert and Isaach de Bankole; delete scene; and a short film documenting director Claire Denis' return to Cameroon for the 2010 premiere of White Material at the Ecrans Noirs Film Festival. The disc also arrives with an illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film writer Amy Taubin. In French, with optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".

Alone

Claire Denis’ White Material is set in an unnamed French-speaking country somewhere in Africa. The local government has collapsed and various gangs have taken over the major roads. Some have started collecting taxes, others have gone on a killing spree. A famous politician has created his own militia to restore order. Businesses and schools have closed. A radio jockey who has not slept in days is constantly praising the 'patriots' that have forced the French Army and the wealthy white settlers to leave.

The whole country is in chaos.

Maria Vial (Isabelle Huppert, The Piano Teacher, Villa Amalia), a white French woman who has lived in the country for years, wants to make sure that the coffee crop in the family plantation is not wasted. There is no time to worry about the 'patriots' and the various gangs. Maria has seen this type of unrest before. In a couple of days people will calm down and everything will go back to normal.

But Andre (Christopher Lambert, Subway, Highlander), Maria’s husband, disagrees. This time, he explains, it is different. Something much bigger, something a lot more serious is underway. He urges Maria to leave the plantation and go back to France with him where they will be safe. It will cost them, but he will arrange everything. When Maria suggests that he has lost his mind, Andre walks away.

Moments later, Maria jumps in the family truck and heads to the nearest village to hire seasonal workers. Along the way she is taxed hundred dollars for using the only road that connects the plantation with the village. As she drives away, a jaded thug warns her that on the way back she will be taxed again.

White Material is a quiet and exceptionally beautiful film. It is also an enormously cruel film. It reminded me a lot about Jean-Stéphane Sauvaire’s equally disturbing Johnny Mad Dog in which large gangs of drugged child soldiers go on a killing spree in Liberia.

The tone of White Material, however, is radically different from that of Johnny Mad Dog. The focus of attention in the latter is on the events that ensue after the Liberian government collapses. Director Sauvaire simply recreates the horrors Congolese writer Emmanuel Dongola chronicled in his novel completely avoiding political correctness (the overwhelming majority of the actors in Johnny Mad Dog are real child soldiers). White Material is something of a confession, a very personal film that allows director Denis, who grew up in colonial Africa, to reconnect with the 'dark continent'.

Unsurprisingly, White Material does not condemn and deplore. The film is structured in a way that encourages interpretation while it offers a very specific experience, so anyone expecting a 'logical' explanation from director Denis at the end that would tie together its scattered pieces will be gravely disappointed. The atmosphere and mood of the film are far more important than its narrative.

As usual, Huppert is superb. Director Denis’ camera often studies her face, but in this film she never bares her soul. Naturally, Huppert's reactions are unpredictable and shocking, resembling that of a seriously hurt animal desperately trying to stay alive.

The work of cinematographer Yves Cape, who has contributed to such films as Minh Nguyen-Vo’s Buffalo Boy and Bruno Dumont’s Humanite and Flanders, is ingenious. The film also benefits from a fantastic soundtrack courtesy of Stuart Staples.

White Material Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Claire Denis' White Material arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Criterion.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:

"Director Claire Denis and cinematographer Yves Cape supervised and approved this new high-definition transfer, which was created on a Spirit Datacine from a 35 mm interpositive. Thousands of instances of dirt, debris, scratches, splices, warps, jitter, and flicker were manually removed using Anti Scratch and MTI's DRS system.

Telecine supervisors: Claire Denis and Yves Cape.
Telecine colorist: Eddy Nakaa/Eclair Labs, Pais."

Supervised by director Claire Denis and cinematographer Yves Cape, this high-definition transfer looks very similar to the one British distributors Artificial Eye used for their Blu-ray release of White Material. The Artificial Eye transfer is slightly brighter and the film's prominent red/light brown tint looking just a tiny bit weaker on it. On the Criterion transfer the variety of reds, browns, and blacks seem marginally better saturated. Unsurprisingly, fine object detail is excellent. The numerous close-ups of Isabelle Huppert, for instance, look wonderful. Compression is definitely better here, and in my opinion the large panoramic vistas look marginally tighter than they do on the Artificial Eye release. Edge-enhancement and macroblocking are not a serious issue of concern. I also did not see any traces of heavy noise reduction. Finally, there are absolutely no stability issues to report in this review either. To sum it all up, as far as I am concerned Criterion's Blu-ray release of White Material looks marginally better than that produced by Artificial Eye, but the subtle difference in quality will likely be noticed only when the film is projected. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free PS3 or SA in order to access its content).

White Material Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Criterion have provided optional English subtitles for the main feature. When turned on, they appear inside the image frame.

The following text appears inside the booklet provided with this Blu-ray disc:

"This film features a fully digital soundtrack. The audio was mastered at 24-bit from the original digital audio master files using Pro Tools HD."

The French DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is solid. As I mentioned in our review for the Artificial Eye Blu-ray release of White Material, Stuart Staples' dark and moody soundtrack benefits enormously from the loseless treatment. There is a wide range of nuanced dynamic that enhance tremendously the tense atmosphere. The dialog is crisp, clean, stable, and exceptionally easy to follow. I also did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, hissings, or audio dropouts to report in this review.

White Material Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Interviews - three interviews recorded exclusively for Criterion in 2010.
  
  -- Claire Denis - In French, with optional English subtitles. (25 min, 1080p).
  -- Isabelle Huppert - In French, with optional English subtitles. (15 min, 1080p).
  -- Isaach de Bankole - In English, not subtitled. (14 min, 1080p).

• Deleted Scene - Maria returns to the plantation to find her ex-husband, Andre, murdered. In French, with optional English subtitles. (3 min, 1080i).

• Ecrans Noirs Film Festival, 2010 - a short film documenting director Claire Denis' return to Cameroon for the 2010 premiere of White Material at the Ecrans Noirs Film Festival. In French, with optional English subtitles. (13 min, 1080i).

• Trailer - the original theatrical trailer for White Material. In French, with optional English subtitles. (2 min, 1080p)

• Booklet - an illustrated booklet featuring a new essay by film writer Amy Taubin.

White Material Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

A very personal film, indeed. I believe that many would agree that White Material is one of director Claire Denis' best films, very much on par with Chocolate, Beau travail, and L'intrus. As expected, Criterion's Blu-ray release of White Material looks and sounds terrific. It also contains three very good exclusive interviews. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.