The Aura (Aura, El) (2005)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Drama	Main Menu Audio Theatrical Trailer-The Aura Teaser Trailer-Madman Propaganda
Rating
Year Of Production	2005
Running Time	127:27 (Case: 134)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Fabián Bielinsky
Studio Distributor	Madman Entertainment	Starring	Ricardo Darín Dolores Fonzi Pablo Cedrón Nahuel Pérez Biscayart Jorge D'Elía Alejandro Awada Rafa Castejón Manuel Rodal Walter Reyno Alejandro Gancé Daniel Alejandro Ovando
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$24.95	Music	Lucio Godoy

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	Unknown	Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.30:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    aura.  a sensation, as of a current of cold air, or other sensory experience, preceding an attack of epilepsy, hysteria, etc. - The Macquarie Dictionary

    The Aura (el aura) is the second and final film from Argentinean filmmaker, Fabián Bielinsky. He died suddenly and tragically from a heart attack at the relatively young age of 46 - just a few months after the cinema release of The Aura. Together with Fabián's first film, Nine Queens, The Aura displays the high caliber of his filmmaking abilities and compounds the lament for his passing at such an early stage in his career.

    Esteban Espinosa (Ricardo Darín) is a taxidermist with a keen interest in the criminal world. Esteban collects and studies newspaper articles relating to bank heists like some people keep scrapbook collections of their favourite football team. He is also an epileptic and sometimes suffers seizures in which he transcends reality and loses all track of time and space. A possible legacy to this affliction is that Esteban also has a photographic memory.

    While alone on a hunting trip in the Patagonia forest, Esteban accidentally shoots and kills a man. Upon closer examination of this dead man, Esteban discovers a hut nearby, which was being used by the man for a sinister purpose. Inside he finds the plans to a robbery, which involves the heist of a massive sum of money from an armored vehicle.

    Now the question of what to do about the man's death becomes clear to Esteban - he will conceal the accident and become the surrogate of the dead man. With his ability to absorb and retain information, Esteban plans to convince the other participants that he is actually an ordained member of the operation. He must also appease them as to the whereabouts of their now dead leader. But has Esteban interpreted the plan correctly? Under an increasing cloud of danger and suspicion, Esteban must also deal with the uncertainty of the aura.

    It's difficult to do justice to this film by outlining a brief synopsis. There are so many components to this fine film, that it's best to just let the viewer experience it for themselves. On the surface Fabián Bielinsky's screenplay might seem implausible and silly, but he brings the film together with strong conviction and great skill. The Aura is as much a superb character study as it is an original and intriguing crime thriller. The Aura is a true underrated gem.

Video

    The Aura is presented in an aspect ratio of 2.28:1, which is 16x9 enhanced - this is close to the correct ratio of 2.35:1. The rear cover of the DVD incorrectly states that the transfer is letterboxed 1.85:1.

    The transfer is quite striking, displaying an excellent degree of sharpness and clarity throughout. Blacks were deep, clean and free from noise issues. Shadow detail was also very impressive.

    The colour palette used in The Aura is predominately a perfect blending of cold colours. Cool greys, pale blues and dark greens dominate the film, providing some amazing visuals. Checco Varese's cinematography embraces and compliments the palette, creating a dark world of menace and intrigue.

     There were no MPEG artefacts evident in the transfer. On the whole, film-to-video artefacts were kept in check, although there were a couple of instances of noticeable aliasing. The most obvious being on the roof of a building at 63:20. I didn't notice any film artefacts in the transfer.

    The only subtitles available on the disc are English. They are bold yellow and were easily legible.

    This is a DVD 9, dual layer disc. The layer change is well placed at 56:57 and wasn't at all obvious.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    There are two audio tracks available on the disc - Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s) and Spanish Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s).

    Although I have minimal comprehension of the Spanish language, all dialogue sounded clear and concise. There were also no apparent issues with audio sync.

    The original score for the film is credited to Lucio Godoy. The score is perfectly balanced and is never intrusive to the action on screen. There is also some beautiful classical  music, which has been nicely incorporated into the film.

    This is certainly not an aggressive audio track. The surround channels were used at totally appropriate moments in the film and were used to great effect. These included the experience of the aura and Godoy's atmospheric music score.

   Likewise, the subwoofer was subtle, but well used during appropriate moments.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

Theatrical Trailer

    The Aura (1:52 )

Madman Propaganda

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall