Gwen and the Book of Sand: Standard Edition – Deaf Crocodile (UHD/Blu-ray Combo)

Theatrical Release Date: France, 1985
Director: Jean-François Laguionie
Writers: Jean-Paul Gaspari, Jean-François Laguionie
Cast: Michel Robin, Lorella Di Cicco, Armand Babel, Raymond Jourdan, Saïd Amadis, Bertrand Bautheac, Jacques Bouvier, Jacques Ruisseau

Release Date: June 10th, 2025
Approximate Running Time: 63 Minutes 57 Seconds
Aspect Ratio: 1.37:1 Aspect Ratio / 2160 Progressive / HEVC / H.265 / Dolby Vision HDR10
Rating: NR
Sound: DTS-HD 5.1 French
Subtitles: English
Region Coding: Region Free (4K UHD), Region A (Blu-ray)
Retail Price: $39.95

“Why search the sand for answers? It has told us everything,” whispers Roseline (voiced by Michel Robin), the 173-year old desert nomad narrator of French director Jean-François Laguionie’s hauntingly poetic animated feature of life after the apocalypse, where the few hardy survivors walk on stilts from well to well, scorpions glow like lanterns, and the mysterious Makou drops giant everyday objects – forks, eyeglasses, bathtubs – from the skies. Into this desolate science-fiction landscape, part-DUNE, part-FURY ROAD, emerges the story’s teenage heroine, Gwen (voiced by Lorella Di Cicco), who refuses to stay silent and hide in the shadows – and whose love for teenage boy Nokmoon, kidnapped by the Makou and its followers, will drive her and Roseline on an epic journey across the endless sands, “the still silence of chaos and oblivion.” - synopsis provided by the distributor

Video: 5/5 (4K UHD, Blu-ray)

Here’s the information provided about this release's transfer, "Beautifully restored in 4K with the director’s participation for La Traverse Films in France and released for the first time ever in the U.S. by Deaf Crocodile."

Gwen and the Book of Sand comes on a 66 GB dual layer 4K UHD.

Disc Size: 51 GB

Feature: 45.2 GB

Fidelity In Motion delivers a solid encode; the source looks excellent. Colors are nicely saturated, image clarity, black levels, and compression are solid, and the image retains an organic look.

Gwen and the Book of Sand comes on a 25 GB single layer Blu-ray.

Disc Size: 23.1 GB

Feature: 17.4 GB

This Blu-ray uses the same master that is used for the 4K UHD disc.

Audio: 5/5

This release comes with one audio option, a DTS-HD 5.1 mix in French with removable English subtitles. The audio sounds excellent; dialog comes through clearly, everything sounds balanced and robust when it should.

Extras:

Extras on the 4K UHD disc include a video essay by journalist and physical media expert Ryan Verrill (The Disc Connected) and film professor Dr. Will Dodson titled The Language of the Sands (24 minutes 44 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English, no subtitles), an interview with director Jean-François Laguionie, moderated by Dennis Bartok of Deaf Crocodile (65 minutes 19 seconds, Dolby Digital stereo English and French with simultaneous English translation by Fred Cassidy, and an audio commentary with film historian Samm Deighan.

The Blu-ray disc has the same extras.

Other extras include an insert with a URL that has a PDF for the video essay.

Summary:

In a post-apocalyptic future, a young girl adopted by a nomad tribe searches for her friend who has been kidnapped and taken by people living in an isolated city.

Though there is a simplicity to the events that unfold, there is just enough time spent filling in the protagonist Gwen’s backstory. The first half centers on Gwen and her experiences with a nomad tribe, while the latter half shifts to her quest to rescue her friend. Despite its brevity, a significant amount occurs within the span of 64 minutes.

Simplicity extends to the visuals, and yet there are many striking moments that enhance the mood. Another strength of the visuals is its use of gouache (opaque watercolor), which gives the animation a distinctive look. When it comes to the voice acting, despite it being monotone, it actually suits the story that unfolds.

Where nomads traverse the barren landscape, migrating from one water well to another, the inhabitants of the isolated city form a cult that venerates relics from the past; their leader recites from a catalog of products. While Gwen and the Book of Sand explores themes such as religion and materialism, its social commentary remains superficial. Ultimately, the positives of Gwen and the Book of Sand far outweigh its negatives, especially in terms of how effectively it creates atmosphere.

Gwen and the Book of Sand gets an excellent release from Deaf Crocodile that comes with a solid audio/video presentation and informative extras; recommended.

Note: There is a deluxe release of Gwen and the Book of Sand that comes in a slipcase and a 60-page book with rare production artwork, a newly translated essay by director Jean-François Laguionie about the making of the film, an essay by film historian Jennifer Lynde Barker, and an essay by film critic Walter Chaw (Film Freak Central).

Note about the 4K screenshots: It is not possible to make Dolby Vision or HDR10 screenshots that faithfully match the experience of watching a film in motion on a TV. Instead of not having any screenshots, all of the 4K screenshots are m2ts taken with a MPC-HC player and lossless PNGs.

 

Written by Michael Den Boer