Video:

The Film Movement DVD presentation of Viva Laldjerie is presented in anamorphic widescreen, with an aspect ratio of 1.78:1. The transfer is messy in many parts, with digital noise on occasion and over saturated colors. It's a miss for Film Movement, which is usually very reliable in the care it takes with its transfers.

Audio:

What the presentation lacks visually it makes up for aurally. A 2.0 track is all that is provided, but it is well separated and powerful, especially in an early nightclub scene.

Extras:

The short film du mois is Yashmak, an amusing look at what lies behind traditional Muslim dress. As funny as it is, it lasts all of three and a half minutes.

Other extras include biographies and trailers for other Film Movement releases.

Final Thoughts:

Viva Laldjerie is not the "feel good hit of the summer." It is, at times, an unbearably bleak look into the lives of women in modern-day Algeria, and how religious and conservative custom restrict or bind them. While its tone may turn off some, those that can deal with it will find an interesting character study here.