Long Live Charlie Countryman - Blu-ray

Content: When his mother dies, her son Charlie Countryman (Shia LaBeouf) makes a promise that leads him on a plane bound for Romania a short time later. But even on the way to Bucharest it becomes clear that this will not be a fun vacation. In the middle of the flight his seatmate dies, not without asking Charlie to deliver a message to his daughter Gabi (Evan Rachel Wood). But after he complies with this request, the turbulence really begins. Because not only does he quickly lose his heart to Gabi. He also has to deal with her psychopathic ex Nigel (Mads Mikkelsen) and the ice-cold Darko (Til Schweiger). And Charlie's loopy youth hostel roommates Karl (Rupert Grint) and Luc (James Buckley) also ensure that things are anything but boring for him in Bucharest - and soon he even has to fear for his life...

Long Live Charlie Countryman is a very unusual film. Fredrik Bond, who made a name for himself as a music video director for Moby, among others, stages the fast-paced love story as a quickly edited rush of images and a stylish trip with very surreal moments. The journey of Charlie Countryman, who is always accompanied by death, through Bucharest is one of those films that you don't just watch, but actually experience. The staging is too intense to just let the film wash over you. Surely, the whole thing is very special and might therefore elude the broad mass taste. But if you like it a little more weird, unusual and challenging, you will definitely get your money's worth.

Next to the very successful visual realization, which is intensified by the driving soundtrack by Moby and other artists, the film can also come up with good-humored, wonderfully exaggerated actor performances. While Shia LaBeouf acts almost straight, his colleagues Mads Mikkelsen, Harry Potter buddy Rupert Grint or even Til Schweiger put on over-the-top and really worth seeing fun performances, which significantly increase the entertainment value of this most romantic death trip of the year. But the main reason why the film works so well is the fact that besides the stylish visuals, the coherent soundtrack and the good ensemble of actors, it also has a really nice story to tell.

Because even if it is very rough and dirty at times, Long Live Charlie Countryman is at its core a very tender romance and a very big paean to life and love. Beyond any form of kitsch and common clichés, Bond manages very well to make the love between Charlie and Gabi seem real and very stirring. The fact that the emotions aren't entirely buried by the flashy visuals in the process speaks to the director's talent. If you have a soft spot for visually intoxicating, almost slightly experimental young independent cinema, you shouldn't miss out on taking a trip through Bucharest with Charlie Countryman. Worth seeing!

Image + Sound: On the Blu-ray, the rush of images comes through very well. Bright, powerful colors, good image sharpness, which sometimes blurs a little as a deliberately used stylistic device, and coherent contrasts make the film a visual pleasure even in the home theater. The powerful DTS-HD MA 5.1 mix features powerful bass that comes into play especially during the soundtrack and some very well realized surround moments. Overall, the action sounds very lively, with the dialogue mixed very centrally. Good!

Extras: The only bonus the DVD has to offer is the trailer for the film.

Conclusion:Long Live Charlie Countryman is a very unusual film. Director Frederick Bond tells a rather whimsical love story in a veritable rush of images that exerts an almost hypnotic fascination on the viewer. At times completely weird and funny, then again moving and almost a little sad, but always somehow different - that's how this festival favorite presents itself, which can be warmly recommended to friends of slightly experimental entertainment cinema. The Blu-ray executes the film's striking visual language very well, only disappointing in terms of bonus material. Still, in the end, there's a well-deserved: recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp