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Stations of the Cross
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - Arrow Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (10th January 2015). |
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The Film
 ***This is an A/V and Extras review only. For reviews on the movie from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** 14 year old Maria (Lea Van Acken) is a member of a strict branch of Catholicism that rejects all the reforms that were made in the Church since the 1960s. Maria lives her everyday life in the modern world, yet yearns to follow Jesus fully, to become a saint and go to heaven. Christian, a boy she meets at school, almost draws Maria away from her goal with an invite to join the school’s gospel choir, but her strictly pious mother (Franziska Weiz) pulls her back in line, seeing his tentative approaches as a temptation to sin, along with participating in what she sees as the ‘Devils music’. Told in fourteen individual tableaus that parallel Christ’s journey to his crucifixion, Stations of the Cross is both an indictment of fundamentalist faith and the articulation of an impressionable teen’s struggle to find her own path in life.
Video
Independent British distributor Arrow Films have released the critically acclaimed "Stations of the Cross" on to Blu-ray in the United Kingdom using the original aspect ratio of 2.35:1. The feature is presented with an AVC MPEG-4 encode, and is 1080p. Overall, it's of high quality. "Stations of the Cross" features quite a unique grab in the way it was filmed. The feature is split into fourteen chapters, with each one featuring a single shot, usually from a stationary camera. Each scene is in a unique setting, be it the confessional booth of the church, the main abbey of the church, in a car, or in a hospital room, and each one makes use of the light colours which surround it. Blacks are few and far between outside of the confessional booth (where some minor crush can be found), and for the most part, are deep and inky. Lighter colours are very bright and vivid, adding a lot of depth not only to the enclosed environments, but in particular at the top of the hill where the family have walked to, even though you don't get to see the scenery they admire. Details are excellent throughout, with minute details in clothing and faces always clear, despite usually being mid-range rather than very close to the camera. There are no obvious issues with aliasing or edge enhancement, and no noticeable compression artefacts. This is a very strong transfer that exhibits no damage. The feature is uncut, and runs 110:25.
Audio
There is a single DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track included on this release which is mainly German, but also includes a little Latin and French dialogue too. At first glance, one may assume that the 5.1 track is rather boring, with not much going on, but when you understand the locations of each scene, and the lack of possibilities for the surrounds to be full of life in the majority of these environments, then the frequent small subtleties can be very surprising. Gentle wind and minor echoes add a feeling of immersion to what is an intentionally front focused track. Dialogue is crystal clear at all times with no mumbling, and volume levels are consistent throughout. There are no issues such as drop outs, scratches or background hiss. Optional English subtitles are included.
Extras
Just a couple of start-up trailers: - "A Touch of Sin" (1:33) - "Like Father, Like Son" (2:15)
Overall
A cracking film given a very solid technical presentation. Shame about the lack of extras.
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