{"id":31519,"date":"2025-06-24T15:00:47","date_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=31519"},"modified":"2025-06-24T15:00:47","modified_gmt":"2025-06-24T22:00:47","slug":"blasts-from-the-past-4k-ultra-hd-and-blu-ray-review-palindromes-2004","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=31519","title":{"rendered":"Blasts from the Past! 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray Review: PALINDROMES (2004)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo set\nfrom Radiance Films will be available for purchase on June 24th<\/sup>,\n2025 (a standalone Blu-ray edition is also available).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For a couple of years now, Radiance Films has been\ndelivering impressive international fare on Blu-ray to film fans, with upgraded\ntransfers and enlightening bonus material. Now, they have dipped their toes\ninto 4K Ultra HD with their latest release. Palindromes<\/em> is a provocative\nand noteworthy title from writer\/director Todd Solondz (Welcome to the\nDollhouse, Happiness, Life During Wartime<\/em>) and the distributor is\npresenting it in both a 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo pack, as well as a\nstandalone Blu-ray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While I have seen many of the filmmaker\u2019s works, this was an\neffort that slipped through the cracks. As such, it was fascinating to catch up\nwith the movie. It\u2019s a remarkably strong effort that, like the filmmaker\u2019s\nother work, will stir viewers and prompt many reactions. The film is designed\nto directly address and confront issues in American society that are often\noverlooked and ignored in typical narratives. This reviewer was impressed and\nis happy to see Palindromes<\/em> getting more attention with this\nrelease.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you have seen Welcome to the Dollhouse<\/em>, you\u2019ll\nremember that the main, tormented character was Dawn Weaver. This story follows\nher 13-year-old cousin, Aviva (played by eight different performers of\ndifferent ages, races and genders, including Shayna Levine, Sharon Wilkins and Jennifer\nJason Leigh). In a series of vignettes, we learn that the protagonist isn\u2019t\nliving an ideal life and feels like something of an outcast. All she wants is\nto have a child, and essentially create someone to love. Family friend and\nless-than-charming teen Judah (Robert Agri) agrees to have sex with Aviva, and\nsurprisingly, she does get pregnant. Her mother (Ellen Barkin) and father\n(Richard Masur) are horrified and ultimately convince her against her wishes to\nhave an abortion. It doesn\u2019t go smoothly and she loses the ability to have\nkids, although no one actually tells her about the unintended complications of\nthe procedure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As her relationship with immediate family members\ndeteriorates, she runs away, hoping to get pregnant once again. She ends up\nsleeping with truck driver Bob (Stephen Adly Guirgis), who quickly leaves her\nbehind at a motel. Aviva then thinks she\u2019s found a new life with the Sunshine\nFamily, a Christian fundamentalist foster home. She makes friends with other\nkids staying there, but it soon becomes clear that the adults hide a horrible\nsecret and that they are manipulating her. They have connections to the truck\ndriver, and after him with a violent assignment, ends up being hunted by\npolice. As the story comes to a close, Aviva reunites with several characters,\nstill believing that she will once again get pregnant and be a mother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Story elements are incredibly grim and distressing. The\nworld is an ugly place, but there is dark humor interspersed into the\nproceedings to keep us invested and guessing where the story will progress. The\ntechnique of using so many different performers in one role is an interesting\none and more effective than initially anticipated. Aviva goes down some strange\nand horrid paths, which might be a slog with one performer enduring the\nnastiness of all these situations. Instead, we see various actors embody different\nqualities of the character. Some are even chipper, which serves as a\nfascinating contrast to the world around them. In the process, you\u2019ll see a\nchild talk about pregnancy, and an adult woman share her innocent and perhaps\nnaive thoughts with those around her. After the first couple of transitions, it\nisn\u2019t distracting and allows different themes and ideas in each segment to come\nto the forefront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The time spent at the Sunshine Family is particularly\ninteresting and filled with subtext. There are some oddly funny exclamations\n(\u201cJesus tears!\u201d) and the indoctrinated foster kids. Some of them are disabled,\nand perform in a singing group. None know that their beloved guardians are,\nbehind closed doors, doing the opposite of what they preach. The young\nperformers are talented, yet the routine is so excessively upbeat that it\nhumorously emphasizes how their guardians are using them to rope in more followers\nand lead everyone down an ugly path. The scary part about this is that it\u2019s\ngenerally accurate, and that many real groups use these kinds of approaches.\nGrimly funny and chilling at the same time, it\u2019s even more relevant today than\nit was 20 years ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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After taking viewers down various strange and uncomfortable\nbackroads, we see Aviva continuing forward in trying to fulfil a dream that is\nunlikely to occur. The movie and its characters are never afraid to deal with\ncomplicated and unsettling issues in a straight-forward and provocative manner.\nI was completely engrossed in the film and greatly impressed overall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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For this release, the movie was restored by The Museum of\nModern Art and approved by Todd Solondz. Admittedly, given the unpleasantness\nbeing depicted, the image isn\u2019t reference quality material. It\u2019s a grainy film\nand that natural element is clearly visible both in 4K and the accompanying\nBlu-ray. But one imagines it does look better than previous versions,\ncontaining more background details in exteriors and more expression on the\ncast\u2019s faces. One section that does look noticeably sharp is Aviva\u2019s brief trip\ninto an affluent suburban neighborhood, showing off a much wealthier area. This\nserves the film well, especially after the lead has been in dirtier, grainier\nareas for much of the running time. Those going in shouldn\u2019t expect\njaw-dropping clarity, as that really wouldn\u2019t suit the tone anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are some wonderful bonus features as well. My favorite\nis a video chat with Solondz. He details his inspirations, as well as working\non the film and, as best as he can remember, his experiences on set. He notes\nhow many of his movies feature the same characters, and sees his films as\npresenting almost alternate timelines for them. On occasion, one of them will\nbe dead in a story, only to be seen alive and living a different life in\nanother title. He\u2019s familiar with this world and these characters, and enjoys\nseeing them react to different scenarios. It\u2019s an insightful and informative\ndiscussion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There is also a great audio interview with Alexander\nBrickel, who plays a little bespectacled boy who befriends Aviva at the\nSunshine Family. The cast member talks about what a positive time he had on the\nset and working with the cast from this section of the picture. The speaker\nnotes that the youngsters all were committed to their part in the story and he\nalso notes some of the messages he has taken away from the film.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is also a video essay called Todd Solondz and His\nCinema of Cruelty<\/em>, which goes over some of the themes and dark subject\nmatter explored in his titles. There are definitely some good points, although\nI don\u2019t necessarily agree with all of them.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A trailer is also included, as well as a reversible sleeve\nwith designs based on original posters, and a booklet featuring an essay on the\nfilm, and bits of the press book. Most important of all is an interview and\nstatement on the film from Solondz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Palindromes<\/em> is a title that stays with you long after\nthe credits roll. As a parent myself, it paints a darkly grim yet relatable and\nsatirical portrait of a naive teen enduring disturbing life situations, and the\nupsetting, often contradictory actions taken by the guardians in her life. The\nstory elements are as cutting, uncomfortable and, in some respects, relatable\nas ever. While the image is grainy, this is still the best presentation the\nfilm has ever received and the extras are also recommended. Those familiar with\nthe filmmaker\u2019s work should definitely add it to their collection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This \u201cLimited Edition\u201d 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray combo set from Radiance Films will be available for purchase on June 24th, 2025 (a standalone Blu-ray edition is also available). For a couple of years now, Radiance Films has been delivering impressive international fare on Blu-ray to film fans, with upgraded transfers and enlightening bonus material. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":31523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[153,2923,4660,5213,15660,15661,15662,16584,17693,22979],"class_list":["post-31519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dvdblu-ray-reviews","tag-153","tag-blasts-from-the-past","tag-comedy","tag-dark-comedy","tag-palindromes","tag-palindromes-4k-ultra-hd-review","tag-palindromes-blu-ray-review","tag-radiance-films","tag-satire","tag-todd-solondz"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31519\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}