Le Refuge

DVD Rating: ***

Reviewed by: Amber Wilkinson

Read Amber Wilkinson's film review of Le Refuge
Le Refuge
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There's a haphazard, easygoing appeal to the making of scenes captured on this DVD. Mainly focusing on a scene on a beach, it gives a real sense of both the conditions in which the actors were peforming in and of Francois Ozon as a director - hands on and adamant about what he wants. That day's shooting is referenced in the second part of the featurette, which shows Isabelle Carré and Louis-Ronan Choisy in the recording studio. Ronan-Choisy is a professional musician by trade, while Carré clearly is not. "I'm going to need a ventilator after this," she says as they make her sing the theme to Le Refuge for the umpteenth time, adding, "And intensive care!"

The resultant song - along with a rather 'striving to be arty' pop video - is also included on the disc. The extra entitled Actors In Conversation is, alas, not an interview with the stars - the one thing that is really noticeable by its absence here. Instead, it is a rehearsal test scene between Ronan-Choisy and Carré. More interesting are the cut scenes, nine minutes of material that didn't make it to the finished film.

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Unusually, for this sort of extra, some of the scenes have a lot of resonance and could easily have been included, such as a graveyard segment, although it's a relief that ill-advised dream sequences involving Melvin Poupaud didn't make the cut. The package is completed with an interesting photo gallery - a picture of Ozon on the set as Poupaud's character injects himself in the neck is particularly striking - and the obligatory trailer. Tech specs and subtitling are all fine.

Reviewed on: 09 Nov 2010
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Le Refuge packshot
A pregnant woman whose boyfriend dies of an overdose forms an unexpected bond with his brother.
Amazon link

Product Code: ART 501 DVD

Region: 2

Ratio: 2.35:1

Sound: Dolby Digital 2.0 and 5.1

Extras: Making of, Cast In Conversation, pop video, cut scenes, trailer


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