In a small Mediterranean village, Carmen has looked after her brother, the local priest, her entire life. After he dies Carmen begins to see the world, and herself, in a new light.

For in-depth thoughts on Carmen, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:

[youtube https://youtu.be/504tluBaYxY?t=2848]

Video Quality

Carmen comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is quite pleasing. This is a visually striking film with beautiful shots of Malta throughout where you can see an incredible amount of detail. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around with subtle characteristics easily distinguishable. The film is replete with vivid colors in nearly every frame with various moments and elements of the production design really popping, especially in some of the clothing choices like a vibrant red dress. The interiors are typically a more reserved environment that the presentation represents perfectly with a pleasing richness. The white levels are handled faithfully along with the blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts or crush. This presentation really does the trick.

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original mixture of English and Maltese that works perfectly for this story. Dialogue comes through clearly without ever being overshadowed by the sound effects or the score. The sound design has every nuance positioned just perfectly in the mix. The environmental effects such as the waves of the sea create a really immersive soundscape which grounds you in the locale. The film uses music in really inviting ways that fill the room. Activity in the low end is next to nonexistent, but it does add a small amount of texture to certain moments. The audio is in line with the quality of the video side of things. There are English and English SDH subtitles provided.

Special Features

Trailers: The minute-and-a-half trailer for Carmen is provided here. There are also trailers provided for Alaskan Nets, Charlotte, Karmalink and Squeal.

Final Thoughts

Carmen is a decent tale of a woman taking control of her life and learning to not simply accept what is given to her. The sentiment is admirable and Natascha McElhone does a fine job in the titular role, but there is something holding it back from being truly great. The script lacks true dramatic tension or an emotional bond with the lead character. We needed more development of the character in order to make the story as a whole hold more weight. That being said, the film is a decently entertaining time that only falls a bit short of its potential. Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber have provided a Blu-Ray featuring a great A/V presentation and pretty much nothing in the way of special features. While not an outstanding effort, those who like tales of self-actualization should enjoy this well enough. Recommended

Carmen is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and Digital.

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

Disclaimer: Good Deed Entertainment and Kino Lorber 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.