In The Fade is a drama-thriller from acclaimed filmmaker Faith Akin (Head On). The film was a contender for the highly coveted Palme D'Or (though the equally brilliant The Square ultimately won). The film follows the story of the strong-willed Katja Sekerci (Diane Kruger), who loses both husband Nuri Sekerci (Numan Acar) and son Rocco (Rafael Santana) during a bombing.

When Katja discovers that the bombing may have been done as a hate crime against her family, Katja goes up against the accused bombers, neo-nazi's who had explosives in their possession and at their apartment. During the lengthy court battle, Katja is brought aid with help from the lawyer Danilo Fava (Denis Moschitto), a close friend of her husband Nuri. They take on the bombers with all their might.

It appears that the Nazi's might get off without justice being delivered for her family's death in the explosion. Katja's drug addiction is something that brings doubt to the case and spirals the events of the court battle. The defendant's lawyer (Johannes Krish) turns the case back at Katja because of her addiction. As things spiral, Katja decides to take justice into her own hands. She sets out to face off against the bombers.

Diane Kruger (Inglorious Basterds) won best actress for her performance at Cannes film festival for her performance. Kruger delivers what may be her career best performance. The film has an amazing depth to it and so much of this films great success is brought by Kruger, who carries the film with her great skill as a performer.

From a production standpoint, the film is also a superb effort on every level. The striking cinematography by Rainer Klausmann  (Head On, The Edge of Heaven) gives the film greater heft and weight with its stunning photographic accomplishments. The costume designs by Katrin Aschendorf (The Edge of Heaven, The Cut) compliment the filmmaking with exquisite style and match the cast of characters incredibly.

The music score composed by Josh Homme (founder of the rock band Queens of the Stone Age) is surprisingly strong with great electricity and a jazz style befitting its ambitions. This is a terrific score which brings a lot to the experience. It's a turn in style for Homme but as a composer he truly delivers with this effort.

The screenplay was written by director Faith Akin (Head On, The Edge of Heaven) along with co-author Hark Bohm (Yasemin, In The Heart of the Hurricane). Faith Atkin did an incredible job of telling this compelling story. The film works as an edge of your seat thriller while also remaining an impeccable drama with a lot of great depth. It's no wonder the film got a rave response from Cannes. In the Fade is a superb film which should be considered a must-see. Riveting.

The Blu-ray:

Video:

In The Fade arrives on Blu-ray with an impressive 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition presentation in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. This is a strong encode and presentation. The only downside is occasional minor banding on the image but otherwise this is a relatively clean, sharp, and faithful reproduction. It's a quality release and the film's presentation is satisfying overall.

Audio:

The audio on the release is presented in German and English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. The presentation preservers t he original language audio. This is a good lossless sound mix with a few scenes that use the surrounds quite well and the music score sounds nicely enveloping too.

Subtitles are provided in English, Spanish, and English SDH (for the deaf and hard of hearing).

Extras:

Behind In The Fade Featurettes:

The Story (HD, 2 min.) featuring comments by Diane Kruger and Writer/Director Faith Akin

Diane Kruger and Writer/Director Faith Akin (HD, 2 min.) is about the process of casting and collaborating together

Behind In The Fade: Cannes (HD, 2 min.) explores the film's strong response at the world's most prestigious film festival and Kruger winning the Best Actress award

Inside In The Fade with Writer/Director Faith Akin: Diane Kruger (HD, 1 Min.) features the director discussing his choice for casting her in the lead role

Inside In The Fade with Writer/Director Faith Akin: Denis Moschitto (HD, 1 min.) features the director discussing his collaboration with the actor

Interview with Diane Kruger (HD, 4 min.) features the actress discussing the part and the significance of the role to her

Interview with writer/director Faith Akin (HD, 8 min.) in which the filmmaker discusses how the film is inspired by real events as there were neo-nazi bombings in Germany from when he was a teenager, discusses selecting songs from Queens of the Stone Age for the music before asking the band's lead, Josh Homme, to compose the original music score, and the way in which the fears of refugees in crisis today is another similar reflection of these hate-crime issues.

Final Thoughts:

In The Fade is an incredible film with exceptional direction by Faith Akin and a mesmerizing performance by Diane Kruger. The film is both remarkable as a character drama and as an undeniably superb thriller. This film should be considered a must-see for fans of foreign language films.  

Highly Recommended.

Neil Lumbard is a lifelong fan of cinema. He aspires to make movies and has written two screenplays on spec. He loves writing, and currently does in Texas.