‘Afire’ Blu-Ray Review – A Captivating Interpersonal Drama From Christian Petzold

While vacationing by the Baltic Sea, writer Leon (Thomas Schubert) and photographer Felix (Langston Uibel) are surprised to encounter Nadja (Paula Beer), a mysterious young woman staying as a guest at the holiday home of Felix’s family. Nadja soon distracts Leon from finishing his latest novel, not only because of her passionate liaison with lifeguard Devid (Enno Trebs) but also because her brutal honesty forces Leon to confront his artistic inadequacies. As Nadja and Leon grow closer, an encroaching forest fire threatens the group and pushes the writer to discover whether he can truly care for anything beyond himself. Christian Petzold’s acclaimed latest film was the winner of the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2023 Berlin International Film Festival.

For in-depth thoughts on Afire, please see my colleague Larry Fried’s review from its original theatrical release here. 

Video Quality

Afire comes to Blu-Ray in an AVC encoded transfer in 1.85:1 courtesy of Janus Contemporaries which provides a stellar presentation that deftly captures the intended aesthetic. This sumptuous presentation offers a stable and consistent image quality throughout without any notable deficiencies. This digital production does not exhibit any signs of noise or compression as the imagery from Director of Photography Hans Fromm stuns in high definition. Colors are robust when it comes to the lush vegetation and key pieces of clothing. Skin tones look natural throughout the runtime with great detail on display. This transfer reaches the apex of visual quality on Blu-Ray, and any fan of the movie who picks up this release should be overjoyed.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in the original German which springs to life favorably. The score and other tunes are showcased faithfully here with an enveloping use of the surround speakers that maintain distinct fidelity. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being drowned out by the environmental elements. The sound design is not overly ambitious, but it works very well for what it is asked to do. The track comes alive with the sounds of nature. The natural soundscape is filled with little nuances that do an admirable job of transporting you to this space. Activity in the low end helps provide additional texture to the world. This is a strong audio presentation that brings the movie to life in an unimpeachable manner. There are optional English subtitles provided. 

Special Features

The Janus Contemporaries Blu-Ray of Afire includes a leaflet featuring the essay “Afire: Writer’s Retreat” by Michael Joshua Rowin in which he provides some good insight into and analysis of the film that helps highlight the deeper themes on display. The on-disc special features are as follows:  

• Meet The Filmmakers: A great 16-minute conversation with director Christian Petzold in which he discusses the development of this story, the inspiration of Eric Rohmer, the personal elements woven into the narrative, the deliberate nature of the camera movement, how the production design plays a part in the unfolding action, and much more that you will not want to miss. 

• Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided. 

Final Thoughts

Afire is an engrossing drama from Christian Petzold that appears as if he is scaling down his narrative ambition from the outside. If you actually watch the movie, though, you will see any notion that this is a lesser effort for the director is misguided. The pitch-perfect awareness on behalf of Petzold to center on a character this frustrating allows him to explore captivating thematic content. Plus, bringing the beguiling Paula Beer back into the fold adds a spark that set the story ablaze. There are aspects of the narrative that could be fine-tuned to land more effectively, but this is an effort that stands out in a year of terrific international narratives. Janus Contemporaries has released a terrific new Blu-Ray with a flawless A/V presentation and some cool special features. Highly Recommended 

The Janus Contemporaries edition of Afire will be available to purchase on February 20, 2024 on Blu-Ray and DVD.

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: Janus Contemporaries and The Criterion Collection 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.