logo
'Red Island' Blu-Ray Review - A Reflective, Child's-Eye View Of Colonization

'Red Island' Blu-Ray Review - A Reflective, Child's-Eye View Of Colonization

Living on one of the last remaining military bases amidst a hedonistic group of French armed forces in 1970s Madagascar, ten-year-old Thomas begins to find cracks in the surface of his family's blissful existence on the idyllic island. Taking inspiration from his comic book hero Fantomette, Thomas spies on those around him, discovering the hidden and tangled political and sexual lives of the colonizers and the colonized. As relocation looms, Thomas questions whether the memories he has made are ones he should remember fondly.
Simultaneously a sensual evocation of discovering the adult world and a sober reflection of what it represents, Robin Campillo's anticipated follow-up to his acclaimed 120 BPM weaves together the personal and political in a 'visually spectacular [and] masterful portrayal of colonialism through a child's eyes' (The Upcoming).
For in-depth thoughts on Red Island, please see my colleague Will Bjarnar's review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Red Island arrives on Blu-Ray courtesy of Film Movement with a sumptuous 1080p presentation that perfectly captures the look of the film. This is a visually resplendent film with a significant amount of time spent around the community, and the camera soaks up every single moment of it. There is a fetching amount of detail in close-up shots, along with wide shots of the beautiful scenery. Colors are deftly saturated and especially vibrant within the foliage. Skin tones look natural, and there are some wonderful facial details present. Black levels are solid with no obvious crush, and highlights avoid blooming under the bright sun. Compression artifacts and other digital anomalies are fortunately not an issue. The film looks great in high definition.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track in the original mixture of French and Malagasy that sounds lovely. The movie is primarily dialogue-driven with room to observe and luxuriate in the soundscape as a whole. Dialogue is clear without being burdened by the score or sound effects. This is not a film that commands a particularly robust low end, but there is some valuable texture at points. The track shakes things up with sounds of nature emanating out of the speakers. The film makes good use of panning effects to make the island come alive. Environmental sounds come through distinctly in the side and rear speakers. Overall, this track does a tremendous job of representing the film. Optional English subtitles are available.
Special Features
Audio Commentary:
Director Robin Campillo provides a commentary track in which he discusses the process of making the film, the inspiration for the narrative, the fairy tale qualities, the performances, and more.
Trailer (1:56)
Booklet:
A multi-page booklet featuring the essay 'Masks Off: On Robin Campillo's
Red Island
' by film critic Sam Cohen is provided here. This piece gives a well-rounded analysis and context for the historical aspects, themes, and plot developments, which strengthens your appreciation overall.
Final Thoughts
Red Island provides a unique entry point into the colonization of a community as seen through the wide, deeply observant eyes of a kid. Director Robin Campillo weaves in the stories of multiple different members of the community, but the limited lens means that some of the narratives feel a bit incomplete or superfluous. There is a mixture of tones that mostly works out well, but the clashes are jarring in a few key moments. The performances of the young newcomers are quite good, and the adults in the ensemble all feel completely authentic to the time period. It is not always the smoothest path, but the narrative journey is worth taking. Film Movement has provided a Blu-Ray with a splendid A/V presentation along with a valuable commentary track. Recommended
Red Island is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Film Movement and OCN Distribution have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Ex-MSNBC host praises Trump's political instincts, ability to connect to country culturally
Ex-MSNBC host praises Trump's political instincts, ability to connect to country culturally

Fox News

time19 minutes ago

  • Fox News

Ex-MSNBC host praises Trump's political instincts, ability to connect to country culturally

Ex-MSNBC host Chris Matthews praised President Donald Trump during a conversation with Charlie Rose on Saturday, suggesting the president had a strong cultural connection to the country. "He's very good at knowing your condition, your worries, your insecurities. I mean, he'd be a great bully in a grade school, a Catholic high school or grade school. I mean, he'd be the scariest bully because he'd know everybody's weakness. But he's really good at the moment. I mean, he's out there watching television and keeping up, and, 'Is this the right thing to do, what we're doing right now?'" Mattews told Rose. "Biden couldn't do that in a million years, not a million years. Mondale couldn't do that. They don't have the connection to the electricity of what's going on in the country culturally. And he knows what works." Matthews, the former host of "Hardball with Chris Matthews" on MSNBC, spoke to Rose during his show, "A Charlie Rose Global Conversation." Rose began the discussion by asking Matthews how he would rate the president as a politician. "We have never had a president so instantly spontaneous that he knows this minute, if he had said at four o'clock this afternoon, he would say, 'You know, that's not really true anymore.' He will know the mood of the country. I once had a talk with him about the 'Zoolander' movie, Ben Stiller movie, and he said, 'Zoolander 1,' good timing. 'Zoolander 2,' didn't work. He's instantaneous," Matthews said. The former MSNBC host said Trump knew how to put down Jeb Bush and several of his GOP opponents. Matthews also argued that Trump was a strong public figure. "His strength is still greater than the Democratic strength," he told Rose. "He is a stronger public figure than the Democratic people. I mean, Obama still has tremendous charisma, but Trump has strength. And I think that's what all voters look for. They want a president who is a strong figure. And he's got it. It's just there. And half the country buys it." He also said that he didn't believe polls that showed Trump's popularity slipping. "To be honest with you, the country is moving towards Trump!" Matthews told Rose. "These polls, they come out and show him not doing well, I don't buy that." Matthews offered some political praise for Trump earlier this year over his efforts against elite institutions. "I have to say that the administration sometimes sets its targets in the right direction. The elite universities in this country are not exactly covered in roses right now in the way that they handled these demonstrations," Matthews said during MSNBC's "Morning Joe" in April. Matthews lamented that protests over the Israel-Hamas war over the last year prevented students from going to class, and said every student - Jewish or not - had a right to attend the classes they're paying for at universities like Harvard. "And the fact that they had to be told to do this, they had to be told to let students go to school, which is what this is about, that they had to be told to do, that they had a problem in their own heads. So I think the elite universities are taking a beating right now. It's probably a smart move," he said at the time.

Federal judge in RI halts restrictions on funding to groups that serve society's vulnerable
Federal judge in RI halts restrictions on funding to groups that serve society's vulnerable

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

Federal judge in RI halts restrictions on funding to groups that serve society's vulnerable

PROVIDENCE — A federal judge has temporarily barred President Donald Trump's administration from requiring organizations that serve some of society's most vulnerable to align with its views on gender identity and diversity in order to receive grant funding. The American Civil Liberties Union of Rhode Island and the public policy group Democracy Forward announced on July 25 that U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose granted a request to temporarily block the president's administration from imposing restrictions based on diversity, equity and inclusion; gender ideology; and abortion rights to grant programs administered by the federal departments of Housing and Urban Development and Health and Human Services. A nationwide coalition of dozens of organizations, including six from Rhode Island, sued the government on July 21 in U.S. District Court. The state groups include the Rhode Island Coalition Against Domestic Violence, House of Hope Community Development Corporation, Community Care Alliance, Foster Forward, Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness and Haus of Codec. The groups hailed DuBose's order as critical to ensuring that organizations that serve survivors of domestic and sexual abuse, LGBTQI+ youth and unhoused communities can continue their work without 'being forced to abandon inclusive practices or censor support for transgender people.' 'We welcome the court's decision to grant our motion to halt the Trump-Vance administration's unlawful and dangerous funding restrictions," the groups stated in a release that supported the ruling. "These conditions threaten to undermine decades of progress in supporting survivors of violence, LGBTQI+ youth and unhoused individuals. Our organizations exist to serve everyone with compassion and equity, and we will not be forced to choose between our values and mission and the communities we serve.' The groups cast it as crucial to protecting life-saving programs and ensuring that providers across the country can continue their work without political interference. 'This ruling affirms what we have long known," the groups stated, "that the law does not permit any government to use its funding power to force service providers to abandon their core principles." What's next? The advocacy groups will submit a proposal for the precise scope of the temporary restraining order in DuBose's review that will focus on the organizations that must decide whether to accept the administration's conditions as soon as July 30, according to their statement. The groups are ultimately seeking a permanent court order that would block enforcement of the conditions, which they allege are unlawful and violate separation of powers by usurping the authority of Congress to authorize spending. They argue the policies violate the First Amendment by forcing grantees to voice the administration's views on gender and restrict them from promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Federal judge in RI halts restrictions on US funding to aid groups

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store