Everybody Knows (Todos lo saben) (2018) (NTSC)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2018
Running Time	133:02
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Asghar Farhadi
Studio Distributor	ViaVision	Starring	Penelope Cruz Javier Bardem Ricardo Darin Inma Cuesta Carla Campra Barbara Lennie Ivan Chavero
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	?	Music	Javier Limon

Video (NTSC)		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) English Descriptive Audio Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.85:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	480i (NTSC)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.85:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English for the Hearing Impaired	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     Laura (Penelope Cruz) travels with her two children, free spirited sixteen year old Irene (Carla Campra) and preteen Diego (Ivan Chavero), from Argentina where she now lives to the village where she was born to attend the wedding of her sister Ana (Inma Cuesta). Her husband Alejandro (Ricardo Darin) is unable to come. Back in her village Laura reconnects to her extended family and to her old childhood flame Paco (Javier Bardem) who is now married to Bea (Barbara Lennie) and part owns a vineyard on land that used to belong to Laura’s family.

     During the extended wedding party Irene disappears; newspaper clippings of a kidnapping / murder of a young girl some years before are left on her bed and later Laura receives a text requiring a ransom of Eu300,000 to get Irene back and a warning not to go to the Police. Strangely, Paco’s wife Bea also receives a copy of the ransom message. Alejandro flies in from Argentina; he and Laura do not have anything like the ransom required to get their daughter back. However, it becomes clear that this was not a professional kidnapping but someone connected to the family and so the family starts to tear itself apart in resentments, mistrust, suspicion and old, half buried conflicts; indeed the key to the crime may be in an old secret that “everybody knows”.

     Everybody Knows is deliberately disorienting. There is no score as such, the audio only carrying natural sounds; the opening credits feature the clank of the mechanical machinery within a church clock / bell tower, the flapping of bird’s wings and the boom of the bells while in the first fifteen minutes of the film a diverse range of individuals are introduced, some whose inter-connection is stated, others are ambiguous so one in not sure where they fit into the life of the village and whether they will be important in the story or not. The film however works because it everything feels natural and the cast generally, headlined by husband and wife Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, are totally compelling and believable.

     Everybody Knows (Todos lo Saben) is written and directed by Iranian Asghar Farhadi. The film is ostensibly a kidnap / thriller but Farhadi uses this device to examine not dissimilar themes from his previous films such as A Separation (2011), the film that won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Academy Awards, and especially The Past (2013), films about lies, guilt, isolation, different cultures and the impact of not letting go of the past. In Everybody Knows we witness a once prominent family in the village destroying itself in recriminations and mistrust, not letting go of the past; the kidnap is an inside job and everyone, at various times, is suspect, especially those who need money the most. Like other films of Farhadi, however, the resolution is open ended.

Video

     Everybody Knows is presented in the original 1.85:1 aspect ratio, in NTSC and 16x9 enhanced.

     There is nothing spectacular and nothing wrong with the transfer. Colours in the village and the Spanish countryside including the vineyards are natural with some nice greens and browns, detail is firm. Skin tones are natural, brightness and contrast consistent. Blacks and shadow detail are good. I did not notice any marks or artefacts and only slight motion blur.

     Both English and English for the hearing impaired subtitles are provided. There were no errors.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
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Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

     Audio is Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 at 448 Kbps plus English descriptive audio using a female voice, Dolby Digital 2.0 at 192 Kbps.

     Dialogue is always clear. As noted in the review there is no score as such, only some music performed at the wedding celebrations. Thus, with the opening credits the audio has the clank of the mechanical machinery within a church clock / bell tower, the flapping of bird’s wings and the boom of the bells, later there are voices in the town, engines, the “flack, flack” of windscreen wipers, rain, wind and insects in the centre, surround and rear speakers. The subwoofer supported the storms.

     Such original music as occurs is credited to Javier Limon.

    Lip synchronisation is fine.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     Nothing.

     I cannot find any reviews of the US Region 1 DVD of Everybody Knows but as the US Blu-Ray has no extras I doubt the DVD has. Call it a draw.

     In Everybody Knows a kidnapping is the catalyst for Iranian writer / director Asghar Farhadi to examine family dynamics as simmering resentments, recriminations and secrets long hidden come to light in a small village. A fine cast including Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem deliver compelling performances.

     The video and audio are good. Zero extras.

     Everybody Knows was supplied for review by Via Vision Entertainment. Visit their Facebook page for the latest releases, giveaways, deals and more.

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