The final film from groundbreaking auteur Chantal Akerman, NO HOME MOVIE is a portrait of her relationship with her mother, Natalia, a Holocaust survivor and familiar presence in many of her daughter’s films.

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Video Quality

No Home Movie comes to Blu-Ray courtesy of Icarus Films in its original aspect ratio from a lovely HD master. The film primarily consists of newly captured footage captured somewhat surreptitiously by director Chantal Akerman. The footage looks as technically excellent as it can look in high definition. The transfer appears to have plenty of room to breathe and there are no issues with compression artifacts, banding or other digital nuisances. Skin tones are natural and there is a semblance of detail in the facial features. The colors featured in the film are natural yet not particularly vibrant given how they were captured. Black levels are fairly deep and give way to some amount of detail in shadows when the conditions allow for it. I do not see how this transfer could have been improved visually. It’s a faithful presentation given the original source material that is handled with care by Icarus Films.

Audio Quality

This Blu-Ray comes with a strong DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French with English subtitles that captures this film as well as the source will allow. Dialogue is the driving force of the film and it is mostly balanced well with any competing sounds so that words come through clearly. Akerman does a decent job of capturing her subject considering some of this material was filmed in environments where sounds were fighting for prominence with environmental noises. The implementation of music establishes a key mood for the film, and it is resolved well here as it fills the room. Environmental sounds are plentiful and are replicated perfectly. You could not have asked for a better audio presentation for this one.

Special Features

I Don’t Belong Anywhere – The Cinema of Chantal Akerman: A 68-minute documentary that takes a look at the life and career of Chantal Akerman with a considerate exploration of her work. This is presented in HD with DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio.

Final Thoughts

No Home Movie finds Chantal Akerman concluding her career with a reflective piece that reveals a lot about herself through the life of her mother. As usual with the slow cinema queen, this is a narrative that requires patience, yet the payoff does not seem as impactful as some of her previous work. There are many moments and revelations that will touch you deeply, but the film as a whole is missing the special alchemy to make it a knockout in its entirety. Those who love the work of the filmmaker will really appreciate how she adapts her style to something so personal. Icarus Films has released a Blu-Ray featuring a really good A/V presentation and an additional documentary feature film to help fully appreciate the work of Akerman.

No Home Movie is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.

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

Disclaimer: Icarus Films and OCN Distribution 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.