La Vie de Boheme 07/16 Blu-ray (Rental)

This deadpan tragicomedy about a group of impoverished, outcast artists living the bohemian life in Paris is among the most beguiling films by Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki (LE HAVRE). Based on stories from Henri Murger's influential mid nineteenth-century book SCENES DE LA VIE DE BOHEME (the basis for the opera LA BOEME), the film features a marvelous trio of Kaurismaki regulars, Andre Wilms, Matti Pellonpaa, and Karl Vaananen, as a poet, painter, and composer who scrape by together, sharing in life's daily absurdities. Gorgeously shot in black and white, LA VIE DE BOHEME is a vibrantly scrappy rendition of a beloved tale. This Criterion Collection edition includes new, high-definition digital restoration, with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray, an hour-long documentary on the making of the film, new interview with actor Andre Wilms, a booklet featuring an essay by critic Luc Sante and more!