|
|
 |
13 Tzameti
R1 - America - Palm Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Damian Kissick (5th March 2007). |
|
The Film
 Sébastien (played by the director's brother George Babluani) is a typical hard working roofer struggling to put food on the table for his family, so when he overhears conversations of easy Euro while toiling on his employer's roof his curiosity is naturally stirred. And when a mysterious envelope delivered to the same house drives the tenant to overdose, curiosity leads him to take the envelope, revealing a train ticket and paid hotel bill. Checking in to the hotel under the guise of his previous employer Jean-Francois Godon (Philippe Passon), Sébastien receives further instructions that lead him further down a rabbit hole. The mystery surrounding Sébastien's final destination feels lengthy, but once the protagonist is dropped off at a remote roundabout he is driven to a secluded house in the woods where the film shifts from mystery to thriller. Sébastien is thrust into an illicit gambling ring where a game similar to Russian roulette puts every betting punter's 'player' against another with a gun, a few bullets and the chance to be shot : all determined by the spinning of a gun barrel. Each round has less men, more bullets and higher stakes. Sébastien's urgent need to escape rises along with the chances of his demise as he is forced to participate in stripping away more competition. Directed by newcomer Géla Babluani, "13 Tzameti" is filmed on black and white stock which at first glance could be dismissed as an attempt to make an art house feature. However, the black and white presentation instead works to lessen the violence with grey blood and thus draws us to focus on the characters and the game from their perspective, where killing becomes a means to an end (and a way to make some money). Each character's convincing performance makes the events more real and while the bodies are cleared, you are left to reflect on the question of whether you can take another man's life or have yours taken. Sébastien visibly deteriorates gradually each round in the deadly game and tension mounts every time he and the remaining contenders step up for another round to face potential death. The contenders are left between rounds, waiting in a room solemnly drinking while 'number 3' plays on a honky-tonk piano in a scene that is crafted as if straight out of an old Western bar. There is a sub-plot introduced at the beginning of the film - investigators on the trail of this "Bloody business of murder". However intriguing this is though, by the closing of the film I felt as if it could have been developed further than simply tying up Sébastian's character. Babluani's brilliant direction lays groundwork for the story itself to build the tension naturally rather than prompting viewers by artificial means such as soundtrack (which is all too common to see in film). Instead, the subtle score advances the film without interfering and completes "13 Tzameti" as a uniquely chilling thriller amongst the standard fare in mainstream cinema. Such a strong debut from Géla Babluani can only herald the beginning of many more features from this young director, and with threats of a Hollywood remake make sure you see the original.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 2.35:1 this anamorphic transfer is splendid, the black and white image provides perfect contrast, it's sharp and clean. I cold not see any compression problems or edge-enhancement of any kind. The print had some film grain but this did not pose a problem. Overall Palm Pictures have provided us with a fine transfer for this excellent film.
Audio
Two audio tracks are featured on this disc both of which are French and are in Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Surround. For the purposes of this review I chose to view the film with its 5.1 track, as far as 5.1 surround tracks go this one wasn't aggressive (the nature of the film doesn't lend itself to an aggressive track) but the subtitle ambient effects were few and far between with most of the sound centered around the front speakers. I felt that a dynamic sound mix opportunity was lost, even the sound effect didn't feel right such as the sounds of the gun shots have a vintage feel to them much like how gun shots sound in films from the 1950's, a bit weak and without any grunt to them. Optional subtitles are included in English. The subtitles are 16x9 friendly and are a nice size on-screen. They are easy to read and feature no grammatical or spelling errors.
Extras
First up is a deleted scenes reel that runs for 10 minutes 54 seconds, in these scenes we see Sébastien meets Mr. Godon for the first time and asks what work he needs done on the house, Alexis discovers Mr. Godon has died and reports it into HQ, Godon's wife contemplates moving back in with her parents and Sébastien is questioned about the missing envelope. Godon's wife is surprised to discover that conversations can he heard from the roof, Sébastien refusing to play a third round of the game, the punters betting on Sébastien decide to look for him after he's skipped out and finally while on the train Sébastien is told he's on the wrong service and needs to be on another train. Following this is a "Testimony of a Survivor" a featurette that runs for 12 minutes 22 seconds, this appears to be a video interview with a guy who has played these Russian Roulette games before for money. He comments on why he plays and how he enjoys money as well as discusses whether what he's done is considered murder. This is a rather scary and riveting clip considering this man has killed in a game. A series of 3 interviews are included and they are for: - Actor George Babluani which runs for 6 minutes 28 seconds, in this clip the actor talks about being directed by his brother, learing acting skills, reacting to the acclaim the film received, working around so many guns, the difficult nature of the film shoot, gaining confidence by working with the experienced cast and also comments on his future projects. - Actor Aurélien Recoing which runs for 10 minutes 29 seconds, this actor played player 6 in the film and he comments on meeting the director for the first time and being inspired by the script, the meticulous natures of the filming, he also comments on his character and motivations, shooting on the minimalist location and the differences between this film and "The Deer Hunter" (1978) among other things. - Writer/director Géla Babluani which runs for 19 minutes 5 seconds, in this clip the director talks about the inspiration for the film, the influence of his own life and experiences which effected the film's tone and themes, the family involvement in the film, winning the prize at the Venice Film Festival, he also comments on the long shooting schedule of the film, and the decision to shoot in black and white among other things. Next up is the "Designer Contest" gallery of 13 images, these are a series of DVD cover art that were designed as part of a contest held by Palm Pictures. The winning design is the actual cover of this DVD release and the entries in this gallery are the finalists. A short film is also included entitled "The Sunday Game" this 1999 film runs for 9 minutes 36 seconds, this dark comedy features 5 lovely old ladies who get together one Sunday and play Russian Roulette while they chat about the weeks happenings. This tragically funny film makes a welcomed addition to this DVD although the image quality is not very good. This disc also includes the film's original U.S. theatrical trailer which runs for 2 minutes 13 seconds. As well as the film's original French theatrical trailer which runs for 1 minute 16 seconds. Rounding out the extras is a series of bonus trailers for: - "Make Poverty History" spot which runs for 1 minute 2 seconds. - "The Ordeal" which runs for 2 minutes 22 seconds. - "Lower City" which runs for 1 minute 28 seconds. - "Wondrous Oblivion" which runs for 2 minutes 4 seconds.
Overall
|
|||||
|