The DVD

Video:
A Red Bear is presented in an anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer that looks much better than I had expected. The varied color palette of suburban Buenos Aires comes across beautifully on this transfer with rich, vibrant hues and muted interiors. Flesh tones are accurate, blacks are deep and true, and color contrast is excellent. Detail is good, for the most part, though there are a few soft spots throughout the film. Shadows and lighting are well delineated, and there's nary a sign of edge enhancement. The only real issues with this transfer are some inherent grain, which is to be expected with an independent film of this nature, and some dirt and spots from time to time. There's the slightest bit of flicker occasionally, but it's barely even noticeable. This is, nevertheless, an excellent transfer that makes the film look much better than you might expect from an independent film out of Argentina.

Sound:
The original Spanish-language audio (optional English subtitles are also included) is presented on this disc in a Dolby 2.0 stereo format that doesn't fair quite as well as the visual presentation, but still manages to get the job done. Balance is good across the two channels and dialogue, although it is a bit low at time, is always clear and crisp. The wonderful soundtrack comes across nicely, but with no real dynamic impact. It is, however, nicely balanced and never overwhelms the dialogue. Pumped through Dolby Pro Logic II encoding, this track actually has a little bit of life to it. The low end comes alive, and there are even a few subtle surround effects. Overall, this audio presentation is adequate enough.

Extras:
Unfortunately, the foreign theatrical trailer for A Red Bear is the only extra feature on this disc pertaining to the film itself. There are also four trailers for My Architect, Distant, To Be and To Have, and Tibet.

Final Thoughts:
A Red Bear is one of those films that took me by complete surprise. I didn't expect to be won over by Julio Chavez, and I certainly didn't expect his character of Bear to be able to win me over after the first few moments of the film. I didn't expect to see a side of Buenos Aires that most people are too afraid to show, and I didn't expect to see much more than your typical crime drama. Nevertheless, it seems that Adrián Caetano's film is full of the unexpected, which is what makes A Red Bear so endlessly exciting and tense. There was not one moment in the film where I knew exactly what these characters were going to do, and by the end of the film, I didn't even bother trying to guess because I knew that Caetano would just flip my expectations upside down. It's an exciting thing to be completely caught off guard by a film, and Caetano's strength lies in the fact that he's both willing to show a side of life in Argentina that isn't seen very often, and to do it unconventionally and surprisingly. While New Yorker Video has provided a quality audio-visual presentation, the lack of extra material keeps this disc from being highly recommended. The strength of the film alone, however, is enough for me to recommend this disc as a worthy addition to your collection.