In the Fade - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

In the Fade

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
I have to say that after nearly 40 years on this planet observing people of all different cultures and creeds, that humanity has a built in need for justice. No matter the culture, not matter the society, there always seems to be this innate desire for wrongdoing to be brought full circle and punished. It’s one of the reasons why superhero films do so well all over the globe. It’s not just the excitement and furor of an action movie, but also the gleeful exuberance at watching vigilantes bring justice to those people who seem to escape law and order too often. Batman himself thrives off of taking the scum off the streets, and while we all know that law and order must be maintained, the desire to watch someone “get the bad guy when no one else will” is so incredibly palpable. That’s why when we see films like Taken or the like, we’re rooting for the “good guy” plowing his way through a mountain of greasy “bad guys”.

On a slightly different not, death is one of those things that can profoundly affect someone in many different ways, and in Faith Akin’s latest film, it is the catalyst for all that is to come. I must state up front that In the Fade is one of those films that I can’t describe without giving away SOME spoilers to the main plot. However, I tend to think that the plot elements that we see unfold in this review are less important than the messages they convey, but those who wish to remain completely spoiler free may want to skip down to the Video score and below.

Akin films always use some sort of “chapter” separation to delineate his film’s differing acts, and in this case the movie is split up into three chapters labeled “The Family”, “Justice” and “The Sea”. “The Family” opens up with Katja Sekerci (Diane Kruger) experience a tragic loss. Her husband Nuri (Numan Acar) and her child are taken from when a terrorist bomb is detonated right outside of Nuri’s travel agency. The only clue as to who did it is Katja’s memory of a young woman parking a bicycle outside of Nuri’s work. Sooner or later the police do catch the suspects, and the evidence seems to be positive. The woman match’s the sketch that the police drew from Katja’s memory, there were traces of a fertilizer used in the bomb at her boyfriend’s place, and even the own suspect’s father turned him in to the police after having suspicions of his own.

The thing is, Katja and Nuri have had a speckled past, and this casts some doubt onto the veracity of her statements. You see, Nuri and Katja actually met when Nuri sold her some hash, and then he was subsequently put in prison for 4 years for drug dealing (the opening scene is one of Nuri and Katja getting married IN the prison he was serving his 4 year sentence at). Not to mention the fact that Katja started taking drugs for the first time in YEARS due to the stress of losing her husband. So not only does Katja have to fight the court system, but also her own past that is unraveling all of the honesty and sacrifices she made to nail these scumbags to the wall.

I was completely blown away by In the Fade in comparison to what the trailer made it seem like it would be about. The trailer gives you the impression that this is going to be a revenge thriller. You know, your typical film where a victim takes the law into her own hands and punishes those who wronged her, ala Taken or the Jodi Foster film The Brave One. Instead, the movie takes a much more dramatic turn and delves into the emotional decisions that come from dealing with loss and the struggle of desiring to take justice into your own hands. Each of the three chapters of the film deal with a distinctly different aspect of the movie, and a differing facet of Katja’s internal turmoil. “The Family” is Katja dealing with the pain and agony of losing her husband, while “Justice” is a massive courtroom scene that forces the young woman to relive each and every agonizing memory of the crime while a defense attorney tears everything about her to shreds in order to free his “innocent” clients. The final act is probably the most disturbing, as Katja steels herself to do the unthinkable. We see her gathering up bomb making materials of her own and has her planning out a plan to hunt down and execute the people who destroyed her life. You would think that this section of the movie would be the most violent, but you’d be sadly mistaken. “The Sea” is more a melancholy struggle of the mind, as Katja has to come to grips with the decision of killing two people herself, or allowing them to live.

Watching Kruger agonize over the decisions in the three acts is absolutely mesmerizing, and one of the reasons that I had my jaw hanging down to my knees the entire time. She portrays a level of agony and internal conflict that can be seen so well that it almost feels like it is the texture of the movie. The rest of the characters are well acted and integrated into the film (her lawyer was brilliant in my opinion), but the weight of this movie rests squarely on Diane’s broad shoulders. There’s a sense of quiet devastation that tears at your heart strings, and makes it so easy to see how a victim like this can barely get up in the morning. Each day is a new struggle for Katja, and each day throws a new obstacle in her path to deal with.




Rating:

Rated R for some disturbing images, drug use, and language including sexual references




Video:

In the Fade was shot by director Faith Akin’s long time cinematographer, Rainer Klausmann, of which he has collaborated with for many films. The film was supposedly shot on Arri Alexa digital cameras, which actually shocked me when I looked up the information being that the movie looks very reminiscent of actual film stock if you look at it. There’s a texture and roughness that doesn’t feel digital, but there are also extremely glossy moments that belie the digital nature of the shoot. In the Fade is a film that is shot with a rather bleak and neutral look to it. Colors can be desaturated and grimy at times, only to be interspersed with bright splashes of primary colors, and excellent facial tones. Akin and Klausmann keep a range of detail levels on hand, with many scenes being razor sharp and filled with excessive details, while at other times they tend to soften the image and give it a slightly dreamy appearance. Whites can be a bit boosted and blacks bathe the backdrops, but this is a film that is devoid of aliasing, haloing, black crush and any other digital artifacts (besides a flicker of color banding) to the naked eye. It is stylish and distinct, but very clean and well done.







Audio:

The film is given dual 5.1 DTS-HD MA tracks, both in English and the native German tongue as well. Personally, I’m leaning towards the German track as the English dub is rather poorly done, with Diane Kruger not even doing her own voice in English. The tracks are both fairly identical in sonic integrity, it’s just the vocals that make me push towards the German speaking one. The film is a very straight forward and standard dramatic mix, with dialog taking up the majority of the heavy lifting, with the brooding score by Josh Homme (lead guitarist and singer for the band “Queens of the Stone Age”) filling in the background with a haunting American rock track. Surrounds get some weighty movement during some of the more boisterous moments (the explosion at the beginning, or the little sounds of the public bath where Katja and her sister go before the incident). It’s a well done track, but rather soft and unassuming at times.












Extras:

• Behind In The Fade:
- The Story - Diane Kruger and Fatih Akin (writer/director)
• Inside In The Fade with Fatih Akin:
- Diane Kruger and Denis Moschitto
• Interviews
- Diane Kruger
- Fatih Akin

Final Score: ​

Into the Fade was Germany’s entry for the Oscars this year, and the film won a Golden Globe best motion picture (and with good reason). This was also Diane Kruger’s first native language production for her (she’s a German/American actress), and the first time I think I’ve heard her speak German at all. She also won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival recently, and Faith Akin’s raw direction makes for an absolutely mesmerizing film. The original title was (in German) Aus Dem Nictchts (translated to From Nothing) but was retitled to In the Fade for American audiences. Personally I liked the direct translation better, as it seems to capture the raw feeling of the incident better. Either way, this is easily a must see film, and Magnolia pictures has given it a great looking Blu-ray presentation. Extras are a bit slim, but don’t let that keep you from watching an excellent drama.



Technical Specifications:

Starring: Diane Kruger, Denis Moschitto, Numan Acar
Directed by: Faith Akin
Written by: Faith Akin (Screenplay), Hark Bohms (Author/Co-Writer)
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, German DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Studio: Magnolia Pictures
Rated: R
Runtime: 106 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 1st, 2018

Image

• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Great Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. Will look for this one.