7.1 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.7 |
Near the end of World War II, 14-year-old Michiel becomes involved with the Resistance after coming to the aid of a wounded British soldier. With the conflict coming to an end, Michiel comes of age and learns of the stark difference between adventure fantasy and the ugly realities of war.
Starring: Martijn Lakemeier, Yorick van Wageningen, Jamie Campbell Bower, Raymond Thiry, Melody KlaverWar | 100% |
Drama | 88% |
History | 81% |
Foreign | 43% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Dutch: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English, English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
BD-Live
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Rule one in wartime: Keep your mouth shut.
The desperate cling to innocence is set against the backdrop of war and occupation in Director Martin Koolhoven's smartly-crafted wartime Drama that
centers on the seasonal life of a young boy struggling to find himself and understand the world that's been built around him in Nazi-controlled Holland.
Despite its wartime setting, Winter in Wartime isn't a traditional War picture. Instead, it's a film about courage, understanding, sacrifice,
integrity, and the heightened awareness and rush into adulthood that's a necessary transformation in a world that's all but erased a boy's childhood
and molded him into a man beyond his years. Whether he can survive the trials, hone his mental toughness, and put aside his natural instincts in
the face of a crisis situation is what truly defines the movie; the World War II setting is merely a backdrop for a far more universal tale that applies no
matter the year on the calendar or the dot on the map. It's a compelling Drama shaped by real human emotions, its story bookended by two scenes
that answer the question as to whether a winter in wartime can forever destroy the one thing that so often seems to define a child's existence: true
happiness.
Traumatized.
Winter in Wartime features a first-rate 1080p transfer. In other words, it's typical Sony. The film opens by showcasing infallible blacks while hinting at the sort of strongly-detailed and naturally-filmic imagery the remainder of the picture has in store. Indeed, a gentle layer of grain accentuates the film's wonderful detailing that seamlessly pulls viewers into the snowy streets and wooded areas in and around a small Dutch town. Whether intricately-woven clothing textures or the delicate detailing of freshly fallen snow, Sony's transfer handles every element both major and nuanced with equal care and precision. Colors are deliberately understated and wintertime bleak; the image is overwhelmingly defined by shades of gray and blue, which reinforce both the setting and the themes that define the story. Natural depth is strong, the image is inherently sharp and crisp, and there are no traces of any print damage or unsightly digital manipulations. Though it's not exactly eye candy, this transfer is nevertheless faultless in execution.
Winter in Wartime features a perfectly-balanced DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless track that handles both the film's most active elements and most subtle nuances equally well. The picture opens with the heavy rumbling and rattling sensation as a crippled low-flying aircraft zooms across the sky and crashes in the distance. Between the sharp zoom, the inherently heavy elements of the crash, the accuracy with which the sound traverses the listening area, and the superb sense of actually being there, this is a demo-worthy clip. The remainder of the track doesn't offer anything else much more sonically exciting than that, but balance is the name of the game. The film's sound design is faultless; natural ambience, both woodland and manmade in town, are seamlessly integrated into the track. Music is crisp and accurate, well-balanced and natural, even as it plays over an old rickety radio and the sound comes across as necessarily degraded and sloppy. Gunfire is accurate and potent, and dialogue remains perfectly balanced and unflappably natural within the confines of the center speaker. This is nothing short of a first-class master audio presentation.
Winter in Wartime contains only one primary extra.
Winter in Wartime is a high quality motion picture that transcends its setting and surrounding elements and creates a universal picture about the loss of innocence but the need to retain it in a world turned upside down. It's not necessarily a depressing film; in fact it's quite uplifting at times, even through all of the seen and implied Horror within it. With a tight story, near faultless craftsmanship, and superb acting, it's no wonder that Winter in Wartime has been so well-received around the globe. Sony's Blu-ray release of Winter in Wartime features the studio's expectedly superb video and audio presentations, but the real blemish comes in the disheartening absence of a more thorough supplemental package. Nevertheless, this release comes highly recommended based both on the strength of the film and the quality of the technical presentation.
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