In Hold Me Tight, Vicky Krieps (Phantom Thread, Bergman Island) gives another riveting performance as Clarisse, a woman on the run from her family for reasons that aren’t immediately clear. Widely renowned as one of France’s great contemporary actors but less well-known in North America for his equally impressive work behind the camera, Mathieu Amalric’s sixth feature as director is his most ambitious to date. This virtuosic, daringly fluid portrait of a woman in crisis alternates between Clarisse’s adventures on the road and scenes of her abandoned husband Marc (Arieh Worthalter) as he struggles to take care of their children at home. Amalric’s film keeps viewers uncertain as to the reality of what they’re seeing until the final moments of this moving, unpredictable, and richly rewarding family drama.
For in-depth thoughts on Hold Me Tight, please see my colleague Emmy Wenstrup’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
Hold Me Tight comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation that is truly a wonder. This takes place in a variety of different landscapes including snow-covered mountains and some vibrant green hills, which provides a visually rich experience where you can see an incredible amount of detail. There are also some very striking colors throughout which captures the beautiful nature of the landscape. There is nothing candy colored here, but Amalric frames the natural world in a way that is just as breathtaking. White levels are handled well with no instances of blooming, especially against the bright snow, and the deep blacks that do not suffer from crush or compression artifacts. The transfer allows for some fine texture within the costumes and production design that adds a depth to the image. Skin tones are likewise detailed and natural all around. This presentation does everything it needs to do.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French that works effortlessly in conjunction with this story. The dialogue comes through clearly without ever being overshadowed by the sound effects or the music. The environmental effects create a really layered soundscape of nature and memory that makes the world feel more alive. The film also uses music in notable ways thematically and with characters singing. All of these moments fill the room appropriately. The sound design is a bit more complex than you might expect, and it remains pinpoint accurate with sounds positioned just right in the mix. This is not an action-heavy film, but activity in the low end adds some lovely textures to certain scenes. This is a terrific sounding release from top to bottom. There are optional English subtitles provided.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Director Mathieu Amalric provides an insightful commentary track in which he discusses how they created the gleaming opening credits, the thin line between dream and reality, the symbolic clues throughout the story, the importance of music within the narrative, the shooting locations, the psychology of the character and more. This provides a greater level of appreciation for the film. This is provided in French with optional English subtitles.
- Interview with Director Mathieu Amalric and Star Vicky Krieps: A 29-minute interview between the director and the star is provided here in which they discuss the unproduced source material, developing the text into a film, why Vicky was perfect for the role, their initial interactions, the specific tone they wanted to capture on screen, keeping track of the reality of the character, getting emotionally ready for key scenes, the atmosphere on set and much more.
- Photo Galleries: There are three photo galleries attributed to set photographers Roger Arpajou, Charles Paulicevich and Christophe Offret.
- Q&A with Mathieu Amalric and Vicky Krieps: An 18-minute Q&A is provided from the Angelika Film Center in which the two discuss the emotional development of the story, the directorial style of Amalric, the process of unleashing this work into the world and much more.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer for Hold Me Tight is provided here.
Final Thoughts
Hold Me Tight is a very leisurely paced film which does not seem to amount to much at first, but once you reach the conclusion the entire movie begins to occupy a different space in your brain. What was once a tedious portrait of a woman “going through something” becomes something much more devastating. This is not the type of film that many will be rushing to see again, but it really does reward repeat viewings as you experience the heartbreaking intimacy of the narrative. It is not perfect, but it is so much better than it lets on from the outset. Kino Lorber has provided a Blu-Ray featuring a wonderful A/V presentation and some insightful special features. If you are a fan of international cinema, this is an emotionally devastating narrative which rewards deeply. Recommended
Hold Me Tight will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital on November 22, 2022.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Lorber has 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.