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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Another Woman's Life (La vie d'une autre) (2012)

Another Woman's Life (La vie d'une autre) (2012)

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Released 2-Oct-2013

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Drama Theatrical Trailer
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2012
Running Time 93:32
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Sylvie Testud
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring Juliette Binoche
Vernon Dobtcheff
Mathieu Kassovitz
Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI $24.95 Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None French Dolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

     Are you happy with all the choices you have made in life? Does your career get in the way of your marriage or family life? Do you ever stop to look back on your life and reconsider choices you have made or does the pace of life stop you from doing so? Well, this interesting French drama, Another Woman's Life or La vie d'une autre takes a different approach to exploring these questions.

     The film begins with a young woman, Marie (Juliette Binoche) who is visiting the home of a much more well off family to discuss an opportunity for a career in business with the head of the family, Dimitri Speranski (Vernon Dobtcheff). She is struggling at home with a disabled father and a mother who does not want to deal with him. While at the Speranski house, she meets Dimitri's sons including Paul (Mathieu Kassovitz) who she is immediately attracted to. Later at the beach, Marie and a friend run into Paul with some of his friends and they all end up at a party that evening. After drinks and dancing, Marie and Paul end up in bed together. When Marie wakes up the next morning, 12 years have passed and she is married to Paul, they have a young son, Adam, and she is a very successful businesswoman in her father-in-law's business. As she begins to understand her situation she quickly realises that her life is not as she would have expected and her marriage is on the rocks. Can she change her future?

     The basic construct of this film essentially forces the main character to reconsider her life choices and the current situation she finds herself in. Due to the pace of modern life, this is not really often forced onto people unless things get beyond the point of no return such as through a spouse deciding they have had enough or a retrenchment. In this construct Marie has an opportunity to reconsider before things reach that level of finality. This makes for an interesting and different film about relationships and life choices which is a drama but includes quite a few humorous moments. The film is certainly well acted (Binoche is great as the central character) and nicely directed by Sophie Testud, who is probably better known for her acting. She also wrote the screenplay with a collaborator which is based on a novel by Frederique Deghelt. The film is simple but effective and provides an interesting and entertaining viewing experience.

    Well worth a look especially for fans of French cinema.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The video quality is very good.

     The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 16x9 enhanced.

     The picture was nicely clear and sharp throughout for DVD.

     The colour is very good in general although a couple of scenes early on seemed overbright.

     There were no noticeable artefacts beyond a little motion blur.

     There are English subtitles available which may be turned off. They are in yellow.

     There was no obvious layer change.

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

Audio

     The audio quality is very good.

     This disc contains a French soundtrack in Dolby Digital 5.1.

     Dialogue seemed generally clear and easy to understand.

     The music featured an unobtrusive score plus some effective pop songs.

     The surround speakers were used for a little atmosphere.

     The subwoofer was used supporting the music.

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

Extras

    Not much here.

Menu

    The menu featured music.

Theatrical Trailer (1:53)

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The only other current release of this film seems to be in France where it is available on DVD and Bluray, however these do not seem to have English subtitles. Buy local

Summary

    An interesting and entertaining French relationship drama/comedy.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The extras are still asleep.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Friday, November 15, 2013
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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