In a barbaric fantasy sci-fi trip through time, sword-and-sorcery mythology is bent, fractured, and gender-swapped by master visionary Bertrand Mandico in his third feature epic. Six lives, six eras, and six deaths mark Conann’s poetic journey through different incarnations and lesbian loves. Guiding Conann through her many epic lives is Elina Löwensohn (Amateur, Let the Corpses Tan) as Rainer, a Cerberus of many otherworldly dimensions whose paparazzi camera sees all. The perversity of The Wild Boys and the hero’s journey of After Blue (Dirty Paradise) come together in this even greater handmade homage as Mandico ropes in influences as lush as Fellini Satyricon, The Night Porter, The Hunger, and Fassbinder’s entire oeuvre to craft a moving portrait of a warrior trying to find her place while outside of space, time, and meaning. This official selection of Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, Fantastic Fest, and Sitges “thrives on its own bizarre extravagance as it pushes the limits of substance and style” (Collider).

For in-depth thoughts on She Is Conann, please see my colleague Andre Couture’s review from its original theatrical release here.

Video Quality

She Is Conann makes its Blu-Ray debut with a lovely 1080p video presentation in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio that showcases the visually dynamic 35mm cinematography well. The heightened production design and use of shifting camera technique provide clear textural details. Black levels avoid most signs of banding outside a few fleeting moments, as largely they maintain their depth. Highlights are brilliant without veering into blooming. The presentation shows off an impressive depth of field, even if practical locales are in short supply

When the film is in color, the flesh tones are natural with a magnificent amount of texture present due to the makeup. The black-and-white imagery holds firm proper gradients for robust contrast. The image is clean with the nuanced palette emanating off the screen. The film employs some splashes of color when it makes the most narrative impact. Every shot is like a gorgeous, occasionally grotesque painting you want to explore. Overall this Blu-Ray is an immensely favorable representation of this movie that should please fans.

Audio Quality

Altered Innocence gives this Blu-Ray a DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that captures all of the nuances of this soundscape. The nimble and effective mix sounds excellent here as it both captures the dimension of the space and evokes the brutality of the material when necessary. Environmental sounds of nature engage the surround speakers in a very impressive way. As the characters move throughout their journey, there are some distinct ambient details that flesh out the setting.

Dialogue always comes through clearly without being overshadowed by any competing elements. The score is effective and well-balanced while maintaining its fidelity. There are numerous moments that deliver some nice texture to the proceedings. The audio track provides a really rich experience full of nuances that bring this narrative to life exactly how it was intended. This film is presented in the original mixture of French, German, and English with optional English and Spanish subtitles.

Special Features

Short Film Program: This disc provides an option to watch three short films from Bertrand Mandico individually or as a part of a “Short Film Program” which includes various interstitials that provide a meta-commentary on the proceedings. Most of these short films are offshoots of different things presented in She Is Conann, and it is cool to explore this world a bit more within the wild imagination of the filmmaker.

- The Show Has Already Started (7:46, 6:03, 4:27, 1:52)

- Rainer, A Vicious Dog In Skull Valley (26:06)

- We Barbarians (27:16)

- The Last Cartoon – Nonsense, Optimistic, Pessimistic (9:16)

Trailers: This disc provides the Theatrical Trailer (1:37) for She Is Conann. There are also trailers provided for The Wild Boys, After Blue (Dirty Paradise), The People’s Joker, and The Strangler.

Final Thoughts

She Is Conann is a transfixing journey that makes the story completely its own in a really thrilling way. The film is “artistic” yet not pretentious in the way it presents its ideas, as the story is much more approachable than it might appear at first glance. The beauty of the filmmaking matches the narrative ambition so that each element holds its own. The practical nature of the execution gives the film a visceral heartbeat that makes it stand apart. Traditionalists are likely to take exception to some of the ideas, but those with an open mind should find a lot to love. Altered Innocence has released a Blu-Ray featuring a top-notch A/V presentation and a great assortment of special features. Highly Recommended

She Is Conann is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Diabolik DVD.

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

Disclaimer: Altered Innocence and MVD Entertainment 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.