The Film

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button is, appropriately,a curious film. The tale is one of a man who is born old, and ages in reverse. And it truly is that story, following Benjamin Button from his birth to his death. It is the story of a lifetime.

One thing I loved about the film in my first viewing was the unpredictability. Benjamin has an adventurous life and the less you know about the course of Benjamin's winding life before watching this film, the better. Some phases of his life are action-packed. Some are filled with coming-of-age moments or the "down-South" magic of New Orleans. But Benjamin's life is fascinating and profound, even if different from our own.

I also loved the angst. Although there is adventure and magic, the film's core is the relationship between Daisy and Benjamin. They are the loves of one another's lives, but they are experiencing life in different trajectories. Their love can really only "meet in the middle," though, and that lends an incredible angst and yearning to the film.

Overall, I loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. It is a very long film, but how could it not be in order to tell the story of a whole life? It is also a film that hinges on the viewers' acceptance of a man aging in reverse. It is a magical movie played straight. Viewers must accept the magic or the effect will fail.

This is also a profound film that covers spiritual aspects of life throughout. What makes us who we are? How do our life experiences shape who we become? How do relationships change as time moves forward? And throughout it all, the most pressing questions is: Why does nothing last?

Daisy and Benjamin's relationship serves as an opportunity to explore the fact that time moves forward relentlessly. Benjamin's reverse-aging helps us to appreciate each phase of life from a unique place of observation. It is a fascinating and mysterious film that strikes a magical but melancholy tone throughout. And isn't that life? We experience incredible highs and lows over our days. We have moments that we'll always want to hold on to, and moments we will always want to forget, but forward motion cannot be avoided. Birth and death are our only guarantees and in the middle is where the magic happens.

The Package

As I've moved through the years of watching and reviewing films, I've learned something about myself. When a film is treated with loving care in i's DVD release, my own appreciation for the film grows. Criterion has specialized in this niche genre for a long time now, and man, it totally works for me. My love for Benjamin Button, my understanding of the magic of films, and maybe even my appreciation of life and health has grown from their handling of Benjamin Button on Blu-ray.

The second disc of this release contains an extensive and fascinating documentary of Benjamin Button from beginning to end. It can be watched as a "Play All" documentary, or it can cleverly be broken up into "trimesters" of pre-production, production, and post-production. The documentary is filmed in HD and elegantly interviews all of the major players, giving them a chance to share about their unique specialties and contributions to what is a huge motion picture project.

Benjamin Button is a film that doesn't want the viewers to pay close attention to its effects, period settings, and makeup. It is all supposed to play before your eyes naturally as though 100 years really are passing as you watch. To be honest, it works. My experience of watching this film for the first time was almost entirely taking in the story, and I reflected very little on the tech-wizardry that was necessary to create the film. And this Blu-ray release gives viewers the chance to really appreciate the technological achievement that was necessary to create the illusion of reality in this magical story.

This Blu-ray release is one of the best I have seen. The documentary is extensive, but it is a film in and of itself, edited to be engaging and entertaining. The access to the film's secrets do not diminish the magic of the production, but rather enhance it. And the access to the filmmakers' thematic approach to the content really enhances our appreciation of the movie.