Plot: What’s it about?
Lucien L’hotte (Jean-Yves Thual) is a very lonely man. He is shorter than most men, is struggling in his profession of writing, and feels like his place in the world is unknown, which wrecks his mental health. One day while leaving his office, he sees a circus has taken up residence, and investigates. While browsing the sights, he meets a young trapeze girl, Isis, and the two seem to hit it off well as friends. He soon is offered a very lucrative job offer, when the Countess Paola Bendoni wants him to put his pen to use for her. While Lucien is working for Paoloa, he decides to make an attempt to win her over, and begins to seduce her. Somewhat to his surprise, the plan works, but she soon swings from lust to anger, and sends Lucien on his way. With his life in shambles, Lucien quits his job as a writer and opts to join the circus, to be with Isis. His portion of the circus is performing as a clown, which seems to be the right place for him to be. But even now, can this little man stand tall?
While I had never seen this movie before this release, I had heard good reviews about it, so I was looking forward to seeing it. When a movie receives critical praise and the good reviews build before you see it, expectations are raised, so the film has more to live up to than it did before. As such, I was worried the movie would not live up to my expectations, but I was proved wrong on that front. Not only did this movie meet my expectations, it exceeded them by infinite bounds. The writing is amazing, and the visual style is even better. While this is not a high octane action blockbuster, I was glued to the screen through the entire picture. The liner notes claim the director spent five years preparing for the movie, and the grace of the film would confirm that. The consists of mostly unknowns, but a couple names pop up you might recognize. Jean-Yves Thual has an extensive background in stage and television, and Anita Ekberg has a broad resume of film, including Intervista and The Alphabet Murders. While this is a wonderful film, those who abhor foreign films will want to avoid this one. To all others, I highly recommend that you pick up this movie.
Video: How does it look?
The Red Dwarf is presented in a 1.77:1 widescreen transfer, which is not enhanced for widescreen televisions. This movie is shown in the black and white format, so the primary concern is the contrast performance. The shadows are replicated well, so no overly dark regions or blooming occurs. The image is quite strong, with few nicks or other print flaws, and no compression errors to speak of.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is presented in a 2 channel surround track, which uses the original French language. This is the only track offered, no English dub, but there are English subtitles. While I do not speak French well, I can tell how crisp and even the dialogue is, and the surrounds will get some attention here and there. This is a low key type film most of the time, so the most active audio is the circus themed score and some impact effects, like cracking whips and what not.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The disc includes trailers for The Red Dwarf, The City of Lost Children, and Character, while the insert booklet contains some production notes.
