Turning Tide - Between the Waves - DVD

Movie: When his best friend Franck Drevil (Guillaume Canet) is unable to participate in the legendary single-handed sailing regatta Vendée Globe after an accident, Yann Kermadecs (François Cluzet) spontaneously fulfills a big dream and fills in for Franck. Just three days after the starting gun, Yann is in second place and his first race around the world could end in a very big triumph. But after a few days, Yann realizes he has an uninvited guest on board. Mano (Samy Seghir), a 16-year-old refugee from Mauritania, has snuck onto the boat. A clear breach of the rules that could see Yann instantly disqualified. To keep his chance of winning, he conceals Mano's presence and looks for the right opportunity to send his stowaway off the boat again. But when he has to rush to the aid of a capsized competitor and fetch the casualty onto his boat, the whole affair threatens to blow up...

Turning Tide is a moving, life-affirming drama set against a fascinating natural backdrop, which deals in a stirring way with the refugee issue that is sadly very topical at the moment. Director Christophe Offenstein doesn't dwell on an introduction, but dives straight into the dramatic racing action. At first, it seems as if everything would amount to a French variant of the Robert Redford drama All is Lost. But it quickly becomes clear that the focus here is not on one man's struggle against the mighty power of the sea. Rather, Offenstein presents his main character with a question of conscience that the viewer can also relate to intensely.

The craftsmanship of the film is beyond reproach. The camera has captured some truly mesmerizing, beautiful images that do a very good job of making you feel the vastness of the sea and the rigors of the race. The two leads deliver very strong performances, making both the will-to-win Yann and the desperate refugee boy Mano genuinely sympathetic. This is extremely important to the film's success in that the story is carried almost throughout by these two characters.

Despite all these positive aspects, the film ultimately fails to fully convince. For the humanitarian message of the story is at times a bit thickly applied and takes on almost fairy-tale traits towards the end. In essence, it is absolutely right and quite important. But the resolution is a bit too smooth to be really believable. Moreover, the finale seems a bit rushed, which fits stylistically to the beginning of the film, but gives the beautiful story a too superficial ending.

Even if the big enthusiasm may be limited by these weak points, a positive overall impression prevails. Because the pictures, the actors and also the core of the story are strong enough to dominate over the negative aspects in the end. And therefore, for all friends of the European feel-good cinema, an only slightly clouded: worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD convinces especially in the scenes in which the vastness of the sea should be made tangible, with a pleasant image depth. The overall sharpness is consistently at a very high level and also with color and contrast matching prevails the positive overall impression. The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix thrives in many moments on the sounds of the sea, to which the music and dialogue have been harmoniously matched. Good!

Extras: In addition to the trailer, the DVD has a short, but worth seeing Making of (approx. 17:34 min.) on offer, which offers a decent and interesting insight into the production. Good.

Conclusion: Even if the humanitarian message of Turning Tide - Between the Waves comes across a little too thickly in places and thus almost fairy tale-like, director Christophe Offenstein has staged a very nice and rousing high seas drama overall, which can please with great images, strong actors and a story that could not be more topical. The DVD presents the French cinema hit in good picture and sound quality, a making of worth seeing also offers insights into the making of the film. Overall, that's enough for a satisfied: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp