To receive consideration for an Oscar as Best International Feature, the “host country” must officially submit a movie. In a controversial choice, France made their 2023 pick The Taste of Things instead of the more acclaimed Anatomy of a Fall.

This backfired because the Academy didn’t even bother to choose Taste as one of the five nominees. Anatomy might not have won this award, as the similarly-lauded victor - The Zone of Interest - offered stiff competition, but this nonetheless looks like a screw-up by the French.

Without a US Blu-ray release formally on the horizon, I don’t know when I’ll get the chance to assess Zone. At least this Criterion release of Fall allows me the chance to check out the French Best Picture nominee and winner of the Best Original Screenplay Oscar.

Novelist Sandra Voyter’s (Sandra Hüller) interview with graduate student Zoé Solidor (Camille Rutherford) becomes impossible to conduct because her husband Samuel (Samuel Theis) blasts loud music during the session. Soon after Zoé departs, Samuel winds up dead due to a fall from a significant height.

When an autopsy takes place, however, it points toward the possibility that foul play occurred, and Sandra becomes the main suspect. This leads to an investigation that involves her visually impaired son Daniel (Milo Machado-Graner) as the primary witness.

Although most movies that involves trials wait until close to the end to take us to the courtroom, Fall delivers us to this situation right around the 40-minute mark. It then spends much of its remaining running time in that circumstance.

Which will remind viewers of 1959’s classic Anatomy of a Murder, another movie that devotes the majority of its running time to a trial. With nearly identical titles and even similar poster art, this clearly doesn’t exist as a coincidence.

Don’t interpret this to mean Fall offers a remake or rip-off of Murder, though. While both bear these clear connections, Fall provides an entirely different form of film.

In particular, Fall feels almost shockingly even-handed. With a story like this, most movies would concentrate nearly entirely on the case at hand and the determination of the accused character’s guilt or innocence.

As a contrast, Fall offers no hints in either direction. This may frustrate some who want the movie to spell everything out for them, but Fall never tips its hand.

Does it count as a spoiler to reveal that Fall leaves the nature of Samuel’s death up for grabs? I guess, though this doesn’t indicate how the trial resolves.

It simply means that the movie comes with no “aha!” moments that specifically tell the audience what happened. Whether Samuel died due to murder, accident or suicide remains anyone’s guess.

Most films would give us a clear cue, usually via a big reveal at the end. Fall avoids these clichés, so while viewers will likely develop their own theories about what took place, the film fails to verify any theories.

In some movies, this lack of resolution might frustrate, but not here. That happens partly because the story evolves in such a compelling manner and also because at its core, Fall gives us more of a relationship drama than a true thriller.

As the narrative progresses, we get more and more information about the lives of Sandra and Steven. These illustrate the nature of their situation and actually muddy the waters in terms of “guilty or innocent”, as they add complexity.

And I see that as a good thing. Like I implied, most courtroom thrillers offer pat and simplistic tales, so a story with more depth and an absence of spoonfed moments satisfies.

Fall avoids melodrama, a factor abetted by an excellent lead performance from Hüller. She avoids all temptation to wink at the audience and encourage any particular POV related to her potential guilt, and her basic honesty and naturalism helps carry the movie.

Fall also moves at a surprisingly quick pace given its semi-extended running time. We get an absorbing drama that feels half its actual length.

All of this adds up to a highly satisfying mix of thriller, courtroom drama and character piece. Fall delivers a tight and enthralling package.

Anatomy of a Fall appears in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1 on this Blu-ray Disc. Expect a largely satisfying presentation.

Sharpness became the only slightly weak link, as occasionally shots seemed softer than anticipated. Though I suspect this was intentional, the mildly fuzzy elements didn’t appear to make a ton of sense thematically.

Whatever the case, most of the movie offered appealing accuracy, and the image lacked shimmering, jaggies or edge haloes. Print flaws remained absent.

Colors tended toward chilly blues for exteriors and ambers for interiors. The Blu-ray replicated the tones in a positive manner.

Blacks seemed deep and dense, while shadows felt appropriately rendered. Despite some soft spots, the image worked fine.

I didn’t expect sonic fireworks from an introspective character drama and the DTS-HD MA 5.1 soundtrack approximated what I anticipated. The soundscape tended to remain reserved the vast majority of the time.

Not that it lacked any sense of involvement, as exteriors offered a good sense of place, especially when weather became involved. Still, the soundfield concentrated pretty heavily on dialogue and didn’t come with much room for active engagement.

Audio quality worked fine, with speech that seemed natural and distinctive. Effects became accurate and full within their restricted confines.

Fall lacked a score, so most of its music revolved around multiple reminders of a cover of 50 Cent’s “PIMP” as well as piano performances from the Daniel character. All seemed accurately reproduced. Though not a thrilling soundtrack, the mix did its job.

We find a smattering of extras. These begin with a 26-minute, one-second Interview with Writer/Director Justine Triet.

She discusses aspects of her career and specifics connected to Fall. Triet brings a bright and brisk chat.

Five Alternate and Extended Scenes occupy a total of 33 minutes, 13 seconds. As that cumulative running time implies, these tend to offer long segments.

Alas, though don’t usually seem especially interesting, especially when we spend way too much time with Sandra and her attorney. I do like the multiple takes of “The Argument”, as it becomes fascinating to see Hüller work through the same material in different ways.

These can be viewed with or without commentary from Triet. She gives us notes about the sequences and why they failed to make the final film.

The “Scenes” also provide an intro from Triet that goes for four minutes, 20 seconds. She gives us a good overview of what to expect.

A collection of Auditions spans seven minutes, 45 seconds. We see two with Milo Machado-Graner and one with Antoine Reinartz. All three offer interesting material.

Rehearsals goes for 26 minutes, four seconds and concentrates on Graner’s prep for his role. This offers a good look at his training, especially when he needed to learn how to behave as though he suffered from visual impairments.

A short reel called Behind the Scenes with Snoop fills eight minutes, five seconds and features animal trainer Laura Martin. She details her work with canine actor Messi in this informative piece.

In addition to the film’s trailer, we conclude with a booklet that provides credits, art and an essay from critic Alexandra Schwartz. It finishes matters on a positive note.

An unusually subtle and intricate courtroom drama, Anatomy of a Fall weaves an intriguing web. The movie keeps us enthralled across its two and a half hours to become a compelling mix of thriller and character drama. The Blu-ray comes with largely positive picture and audio as well as a small but useful collection of bonus materials. This becomes a quality experience.