Cohen Film Collection presents two deliriously romantic classics by director Patrice Leconte.
FELIX AND LOLA (2001)
Bumper car operator Felix (Philippe Torreton) falls in love with Lola (Charlotte Gainsbourg) one night as she rides the cars round and round, alone. He’s touched by the sadness in her eyes. When she vanishes, he discovers that she’s tied to a mysterious past – a past that he will have to confront. How far will he go to set her free?
LOVE STREET (2002)
In 1945 Paris, the Oriental Palace brothel is about to be closed down. Marion (Laetitia Casta) is one of the Palace’s prostitutes, but she dreams of a singing career. Petit Louis (Patrick Timsit) was raised in brothels and is the Palace’s handyman. He is madly in love with Marion, but knows she will never be his, so he tries to make her dreams of another life come true.
For thoughts on Felix and Lola/Love Street, please check out our discussion on The Video Attic:
Video Quality
Felix and Lola and Love Street finally arrive on Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation in their original 2.35:1 on a shared disc. These two films share similar qualities that will be judged as a unit with any variances noted. There is no specific technical information given about these masters outside of saying they have been restored and remastered. Thankfully after being unavailable in the United States for so long, the wait has been rewarded by transfers that are very striking.
There is a certain degree of visual flair to each of these pictures, but overall the presentation is fairly straightforward. The natural world is presented with a vividness that pops off the screen in high definition. You cannot go wrong with gorgeous shots of nature and carnival lights in Felix and Lola where you are treated to an incredible amount of detail. The bright colors really pop with the splendid hues of the lighting and in certain articles of clothing. The muted aesthetic of Love Street does not allow for as much vibrancy, but it is natural to its intended look. The white levels are handled beautifully, and the deep blacks do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts or intrusive digital noise. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around with fine texture easily observed. Both presentations are winners from Cohen Media Group.
Audio Quality
The films come to Blu-Ray with a satisfying DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French. The dialogue and sound effects are in perfect balance with the soundtrack where nothing gets lost in the track. Subtle noises and chatter from the crowd flesh out the environmental elements quite effectively. The movies do not feature anything in the way of action, but the environmental activity such as mechanical noises comes through without issue. The low end of the track is basically nonexistent with any tertiary sounds ending up in the main mix. These tracks do everything they need to and nothing more.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary for Felix and Lola: Wade Major, producer/host of the DigiGods podcast, film critic for CineGods.com and KPCC FilmWeek, provides an engaging commentary track in which he discusses how this stands out among the work of Patrice Leconte, the release history of the film, the wait in which he experiments with his style, the reception of the film in France, the ensemble of the film and more.
- Audio Commentary for Love Street: Wade Major returns for another commentary track in which he discusses how this fits into the filmography of Patrice Leconte, the themes of the narrative, how this uses historical events for fictional purposes, the reaction to the film in France, the aesthetic flourishes and more. Major really helps put both of these films into context in a way that is very valuable to newcomers to Leconte.
- Trailers: This disc provides the Re-Release Trailer (1:46), Original Trailer #1 (0:39), Original Trailer #2 (0:42) and Original Trailer #3 (0:35) for Felix and Lola. It also provides the Re-Release Trailer (1:36) and the Original Trailer (1:34) for Love Street.
Final Thoughts
Felix and Lola and Love Street are two interesting efforts from Patrice Leconte which have had very scarce availability in the United States. This is a shame as both movies have admirable aspects, especially the very charming and transfixing Felix and Lola. These might not constitute the apex for this filmmaker, but they are well worth a watch all the same if you appreciate more modern French cinema. Cohen Media Group and Kino Lorber have released a Blu-Ray featuring a marvelous A/V presentation and some great commentary tracks. Recommended
Felix and Lola/Love Street: Two Films Directed by Patrice Leconte is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Cohen Media Group 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.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.