My Afternoons with Margueritte (Blu-ray) (2010)

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General		Extras
Category	Drama	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2010
Running Time	82:14
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Programme
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Jean Becker
Studio Distributor	Icon Entertainment	Starring	Gérard Depardieu Gisèle Casadesus Maurane Patrick Bouchitey Jean-François Stévenin François-Xavier Demaison Claire Maurier Sophie Guillemin Mélanie Bernier Matthieu Dahan
Case	Standard Blu-ray
RPI	$49.95	Music	Laurent Voulzy

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	French DTS HD Master Audio 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	2.35:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	1080p
Original Aspect Ratio	2.35:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	English (Burned In)	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    I enjoy French cinema and this recent film starring Gerard Depardieu (one of my favourite French actors) caught my eye in the upcoming release lists. La Tete en friche or My Afternoons with Margueritte was made in 2010 and is a gentle and sweet story about Germain Chazes (Depardieu), a large, simple man with a huge heart who lives in a small town in France. He does odd jobs, grows vegetables to sell at the local market and lives in a caravan in his mother's garden. His mother has always despised him and treats him like she doesn't care about him. Germain has a girlfriend, Annette (Sophie Guillemin) who is the local bus driver. When he isn't working he either hangs around the local cafe/bar or sits in the park watching the pigeons, who he has named individually.

     One day, he meets an old woman in the park, also watching the pigeons. Her name is Margueritte (Gisele Casadesus) and she lives in the local nursing home. She talks to him about books, reading passages from great novels to him. He is nearly illiterate and has never really spent any time reading, scarred by his childhood experiences at school and home. They become friends and spend many afternoons together in the park, reading books and enjoying each other’s company. As their relationship develops, they will need to rely on each other for assistance.

     Depardieu is excellent as the simple Germain and the story is heart-warming without being cloying. There is no great complex plot here it is a simple story of friendship and the nature of human relationships, which can be enjoyed by all audiences. Those who are looking for great drama or pratfall style comedy should look somewhere else, however, if you enjoy a gentle comedy drama, there is much here to enjoy.

     Recommended.

Video

    The video quality is excellent. The feature is presented in a 2.35:1 aspect ratio which is the original aspect ratio. It is 1080p coded using the AVC codec.

     The picture was very clear and sharp throughout. The shadow detail was very good.

     The colour is very good with no issues to report.

     There were no noticeable artefacts.

     There are burned-in subtitles in English which were clear and easy to read.

     There is no obvious layer change during playback.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     The audio quality is very good but this is not a film which really tests your home theatre. This disc contains a French DTS-HD MA 2.0 soundtrack which is perfectly suited to a quiet, dialogue driven film.

     Dialogue was very clear and easy to hear.

     The score by Laurent Voulzy is gentle and light, perfect for the film.

     The surround speakers were not used. The subwoofer was used for music support.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

     Nothing at all.

Menu

     The main menu has one option, Play, however the film plays automatically anyway. There is a pop-up menu which allows for scene access.

     This film is only available locally on Blu-ray at this time.

     A sweet and gentle story about friendship, books and pigeons.

     The video quality is excellent. The audio quality is very good.

     No extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall