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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.
The Congress (2013)

The Congress (2013)

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Released 11-Mar-2015

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Science Fiction None
Rating Rated M
Year Of Production 2013
Running Time 118:00
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Ari Folman
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring Robin Wright
Kodi Smit-McPhee
Harvey Keitel
Danny Huston
John Hamm
Paul Giamatti


Case Amaray-Transparent
RPI ? Music Max Richter


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

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Plot Synopsis

     Has there is a more unusual feature film released on DVD this year than The Congress, the latest strange live-action animation hybrid from Israeli born director Ari Folman? It combines shades of real life with intensely surreal moments coalescing in an intriguing but sometimes less than perfect whole.

     Robin Wright plays herself, Robin Wright the actress. She lives with her family (fake, this time including young Australian actor Kodi Smit-McPhee) near an airport. Her life is the typical life of an actress in modern Hollywood. She ponders the roles she has had, the choices she made and the gradually reducing pool of roles to come. Her agent (Harvey Keitel) is critical of her bad choices and her habit of pulling out of roles at the last minute, angering the studios. He urges her to meet with the head of Miramount (a blend of Miramax and Paramount) Studios (Danny Huston) and to sign whatever contract he is offering.

     It turns out he is offering a once-in-a-lifetime deal, with significant catches. In return for consistent and lucrative income Robin Wright must agree to cease acting for 20 years (according to the studio head she cannot even perform in "fringe theatre in Western Australia"!). Instead, her body and her range of emotions are to be scanned so that a digitally created Robin Wright can appear in films in place of a flesh and blood performer. Although she is justifiably angered at the suggestion, the increasing deafness and blindness of her son eventually sway her to agree.

     So far the film is a reasonably talky movie about the loss of self in the digital age. Things get really weird, however, in the second half. This is probably because the latter part of the film was based on a short story by high concept science-fiction writer Stanislaw Lem (Solaris) called The Futurogical Congress. Twenty years in the future Robin Wright attends a Congress hosted by Miramount where she is to appear as the keynote speaker and hopefully sign up another contract. The Congress is held in an Animated Zone. Once she takes a chemical ampoule she is transported into an animated area where she struggles to accept the future. Instead of just the computer-generated Robin Wright Miramount want to market her as a chemical so that people can actually transform into her in a dream state. This is a world of bizarre retro animation. When she rebels at the idea the Congress is invaded and she is rescued by Dylan (John Hamm).

     The Congress has strong ideas about the future. It works best when fully committing to those ideas. Harvey Keitel seems mostly miscast as Robin’s agent although he does have a particularly strong scene telling the story of his past. Paul Giamatti has a small role as a doctor giving the bad news to Robin about her son. John Hamm applies himself to the wholly animated role as a frustrated designer giving up everything to be with her.

     It is all Wright’s film however. She is in every frame whether real life or animated. It is a strong performance from this versatile actress.

     At times The Congress seems to be reaching for the infinite containing powerful ideas expertly handled. However, the integration of the Lem story is not achieved with complete success. The animated world is fascinating in capturing the psychedelic dreams of the parties but at the same time the grip on reality sometimes stretches too far. It is hard to make sense of the whole experience and we are left with the feeling that the whole story has not been fully thought through.

     Nevertheless, The Congress is a startlingly different film experience that all science-fiction fans will enjoy when they are looking for something a little more thought provoking.

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Transfer Quality

Video

     The Congress comes to DVD in a 1.85:1 aspect ratio consistent with the original cinema aspect ratio. It is 16×9 enhanced.

     The DVD looks strong throughout.

     The real world is conveyed clearly with crisp detail and accurate flesh times. The real world is frequently drab although splashes of colour and life in the image enliven the picture. The animated world is also vivid and colourful. No attempt is made to create the look of cutting-edge animation. This has the look and feel of classic era mixed with Yellow Submarine.

    There are no subtitles.

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

Audio

     The DVD of The Congress carries an English Dolby Digital soundtrack running at 448 Kb/s.

     The dialogue is well conveyed by the soundtrack and can be heard clearly. There is a subtle ambience from the surrounds and the subwoofer was engaged briefly but effectively during the invasion sequence.

     The score is by modern composer Max Richter. It is a compelling accompaniment to the film. The only other music comes by way of a version of Bob Dylan’s Forever Young.

    There are no problems with the sound transfer.

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

Extras

    The only extra included is a theatrical trailer.

R4 vs R1

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

      The Region 1 DVD release also contains the following extras:

    The commentary would be very useful to navigate through some of the ideas!

Summary

   

    If The Congress sounds like a strange high concept science-fiction experience then that is probably an apt description. At almost 2 hours it is a little long however it is definitely worth the experience. The DVD is of good quality in sound and vision terms.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Trevor Darge (read my bio)
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Review Equipment
DVDCambridge Audio 752BD All Region Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplayJVC DLX 700 with 4K e-shift on 140" Screen. Calibrated with Video Essentials/Digital Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationPioneer SC -LX 78K 9.2 Channel
SpeakersAaron ATS-5 7.1

Other Reviews NONE