Augustine (2012)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2012
Running Time	97:43
RSDL / Flipper	RSDL (49:31)	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Alice Winocour
Studio Distributor	Transmission Films	Starring	Vincent Lindon Soko Chiara Mastroianni Olivier Rabourdin Lise Lamétrie Roxane Duran Sophie Cattani
Case	Amaray-Opaque
RPI	?	Music	Jocelyn Pook

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Nineteen year old Augustine (Soko) is a kitchen maid for a wealthy family in 19th century Paris. While serving dinner one evening she has an epileptic type seizure that leaves her unconscious with one eye closed and no feeling in the right side of her body. She is admitted to the Hospital Salpetriere, a facility treating women with nervous disorders diagnosed in general terms as “hysteria”. There she comes to the notice of pioneering neurologist Professor Jean-Martin Charcot (Vincent Lindon) who is trying to document and explain the condition. Charcot is aided by the money and influence of his wife Constance (Chiara Mastroianni) but funding for the hospital is drying up and Charcot is attempting to persuade the prestigious Academy of Sciences to support his work and the hospital.

     Although 19, Augustine has not had a period, and her aliment is diagnosed as “ovarian hysteria”. She becomes Charcot’s star exhibit in public demonstrations where he uses hypnosis to trigger her violent seizures which become more overtly erotic in nature. Part way through her treatment Augustine suffers another seizure that restores the feeling in her right side but paralyses her other side. By this time, however, Charcot and Augustine have become increasingly interdependent: Augustine is extremely agitated and refuses to eat when Charcot leaves for a conference while Charcot becomes drawn to Augustine sexually. As the date for the public lecture before the gentlemen of the Academy arrives that may determine the fate of Charcot and the hospital, Augustine suffers a fall that seemingly cures her; but the “show” still goes on, with interesting consequences.

     In Augustine, writer / director Alice Winocour, in her first feature film, has crafted an interesting story. Augustine is based upon a true case history of Professor Charcot, under whom Sigmund Freud studied. The film comments on attitudes towards women in 19th century Europe (one press report on Charcot’s work maintains that as women have always been “hysterical” no further medical explanation is needed), and it shows the use of hypnosis on patients during public lectures and the crude instruments utilised in medical practice that would be more at home in a torture chamber.

     At its centre, however, Augustine is a study of sexual and power relationships as Augustine, at the start simply a subject, comes to dominate the thoughts, and lusts, of Charcot, until at the end it is she who is controlling the relationship. The film is well served in the main roles as both Vincent Lindon and Soko are excellent and believable, with Soko giving Augustine’s seizures a chilling and shocking intensity. What is really interesting, however, is the climax of the film where she fakes a seizure, leaving the feeling that previous seizures could also have been faked; just how long could Augustine have been manipulating Charcot and the relationship?

     Augustine is part costume drama, part mystery, part a look at sexual politics that works reasonably well due to the powerful lead performances. The film explains nothing, and this ambiguity has advantages and disadvantages; it leaves the mystery of the extent to which Augustine’s seizures and their causes were genuine open but film also ends on an incomplete note, and one would have liked some information about the fate of Augustine. Supposedly based on a true case, one is left wondering just how much of what is shown is accurate, which I will have to leave to those better informed about the period that myself.

Video

     Augustine is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the original ratio, and is 16x9 enhanced.

     This is not a particularly impressive print. Shot mainly in dark rooms, and exteriors under overcast grey skies, the predominant colour scheme is browns, dark blues and greys, with only a little colour added, such as Augustine’s red dress, to enliven proceedings. Much of the print is also quite soft, accentuated by the frequent occasions when the print evinces a lot of glare. Blacks are fine, but shadow detail is often indistinct. There is also occasional ghosting with movement against walls, aliasing and variations in brightness and contrast plus evidence of noise reduction in some dark scenes. However I must stress that none of this makes the print unwatchable.

     I saw no marks or speckles on the print.

     There are burnt in white English subtitles which appeared timely and did not contain any obvious spelling or grammatical errors.

     The print was not great but got the job done.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track at 448 Kbps.

     Dialogue is clear and centred. This is not a film for any sonic fireworks and most of the effects were front oriented, with only occasional music and weather effects, such as rain, in the rears. The sub-woofer was little used except to support the music, but was not really needed.

     The original music by Jocelyn Pook was used sparingly but when required to enhance the mood of the visuals, such as during the film’s climax, it could build and swell, filling the sound stage. It well suited the film.

     Lip synchronisation is fine.

     The audio track was appropriate for the film and was without issues.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

     Nothing. The menu was static and silent and only had “Play” as an option, not even scene selection.

     The French Region 2 version of Augustine includes as extras two of the short films of Alice Winocour, but neither the feature, nor extras, have English subtitles. The Region 2 UK version will not be released until September – at this time specifications are unknown. There is not currently a Region 1 US DVD release listed. For English speakers, Region 4 is the best choice.

     Augustine is a film about sexual politics and power relationships, attitudes towards women in 19th century Europe and medical practices. Augustine works reasonably well due to the powerful lead performances, although the ending is rather too ambiguous to be totally satisfying.

     The video is not the best but is acceptable, the audio is good. There are absolutely no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall