Trigger Warning: Much of this black-and-white film features a flickering that is more noticeable in non-white/mostly-grey or dark sequences. This may prove triggering for photosensitive viewers.
Stories of hubris are as old as time. Whether it’s literary figures like Lex Luthor (recently depicted by Nicholas Hoult in Superman) or mythical ones like Icarus, tales of humanity’s hubris are intended to teach lessons about knowing our limitations as a warning to not exceed our proverbial grasp. Yet, time and again, humanity still tries to defeat or tame that which it cannot. One such exploration is filmmaker Jean Epstein’s (The Fall of the House of Usher) Finis Terrae, coming available via Eureka Entertainment in their The Masters of Cinema series, a dramatic tale in which two men realize the awesome might of nature and the smallness of humanity. Limited in number and including both new featurettes and a new essay exploring Epstein and their work, Eureka Entertainment offers the 2019 4K HD restoration on Blu-ray for the first time in the UK and North America.
A still from FINIS TERRAE. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
On the small island of Bannec, off the coast of Brittany, a region in France, four men work to harvest seaweed from the ocean, burn it for use, and prepare it for transport back to the mainland. One day, two of the men, Ambroise and Jean-Marie (Ambroise Rouzic and Jean-Marie Laot, respectively) end up in a disagreement when Ambroise drops Jean-Marie’s last cask of wine. In addition to cultivating bad blood between the two harvesters, Ambroise also receives a cut thumb, an issue he keeps to himself and proves to be a detriment to his work as it grows infected. While the others think him lazy, the truth is that Ambroise is growing sicker by the day and, without help, this may be his last harvest.
What follows is a review based on a Blu-ray retail copy provided by MVD Entertainment Group.
For those interested in snagging this edition, be advised right off the bat that the descriptions for the special features are different on the official release than on the site. Bear in mind that the site does include “All extras subject to change” at the end of the mentioned features, so this should serve as confirmation; however, in this case, it appears more that the *titles* of the features are different and not the features themselves. The interview with film historian and critic Pamela Hutchinson in which she discusses (quite enthusiastically) Finis Terrae is now titled “The Call of the Sea,” the visual essay from Eddie Falvey is now titled “Strangers in Strange Lands: Life at the End of the World,” and the archival interview with French film historian and archivist Joël Daire is now titled “Capturing the Real.” These are the only on-disc features and appear to be consistent in content description with only the titles changed. Likewise, the descriptions of the included essays are accurate.
A still from FINIS TERRAE. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
In total, the on-disc features run just under an hour between the three items. The first, “The Call of the Sea” with Hutchinson, is a fairly typical interview in which Hutchinson dives into Epstein as a filmmaker, the making of this film in its use of non-actors and cinematography to convey narrative intention, as well as provided insight into Epstein himself in the 17-minute featurette. Where some interviewees speak informatively about a subject, relating a great deal of interesting information, Hutchinson is, perhaps, the most excited interviewee in recent memory. This makes what she adds to the feature all the more engaging for home viewers as we feel ourselves being drawn in by her own energy. The second, “Strangers in Strange Lands: Life at the End of the World” with Falvey, is about as-expected. This isn’t to suggest that the 20-minute visual essay doesn’t impart nuggets to expand one’s appreciation of the film, it’s that, unlike the surprise of Hutchinson’s excitement and energy, this visual essay functions as most do with narration over video elements. Finally, the third featurette is “Capturing the Real” from Daire, author of 2014’s “Une vie pour le cinéma: Jean Epstein (A Life for Cinema: Jean Epstein),” an archived interview from 2019. The restoration itself (more on that shortly) was completed in 2019 by Gaumont Film Company and this interview appears to be from the same period, likely for a different release. If you’ve had access to this before, there are no surprises to be had in this very traditional talking head featurette.
The booklet that’s included with the limited-edition release includes the usual refinements: essays, cast/crew information, and release information. Here, that’s a new essay, “Cinema at the End of the World: Jean Epstein’s Finis Terrae,” from Epstein expert Christophe Wall-Romana and an archived essay from Epstein himself titled “On Certain Characteristics of ‘Photogénie.’” In the first, Wall-Romana provides context for the film’s title before digging into the film itself, its themes, and Epstein’s perspective as a filmmaker. The second is an essay originally published by Epstein in 1926 which explores the poetry of cinema through the lens of the French Impressionistic film theory known as “photogénie.” In one segment of the essay, he states, “The cinema must seek to become, gradually and, in the end, uniquely cinematic; to employ, in other words, only photogenic elements. Photogénie is the purest expression of cinema.” The intention being that cinema is about the visual and to move away from that is to remove what makes cinema cinema. In the quote prior to this, Epstein also suggests that “Similarly, cinema should avoid dealings, which can only be unfortunate, with historical, educational, novelistic, moral or immoral, geographical or documentary subjects.” To that aspect, one might disagree with the filmmaker as the visual medium is driven by the politics (re: perspective) the filmmaker holds, and what’s captured on camera is decidedly framed by the politics — all the good and the bad — of the filmmaker. To seek to remove that would excise what makes cinema as impactful as it is.
A still from FINIS TERRAE. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
The restoration itself is lovely, though how so depends on the scene. The film, shot mostly in a documentary-like style, features four cinematographers — Louis Née (Vampyr), Gösta Kotulla (Currito de la Cruz), Raymond Tulle, and Joseph Barthès — who captured the cast of non-traditional actors. Wide shots featuring the rocky terrain of Bannec or even the tight quarters the four men live on possess a great deal of grain and evidence of wear, while, at the same time, close-ups of faces or of said-rocky terrain are immaculate with incredible detail. Midrange shots are a mixture of the two with the usual flickering of black-and-white pictures more noticeable, but also sharp in detail so that the audience can pull out fabric sheen or material texture. There’s no information regarding how the restoration was completed with this edition outside of the notation at the end of the film (sans translation) that indicates the restoration was completed in 2019 using (if my understanding is correct) a nitrate film negative by Gaumont Film Company. There’s no indication of how the 4K HD scan was created otherwise, nor any information on the state of the source materials; however, the end result still impresses. Worth noting is that the magnificent jazzy score from Roch Havet was added in 2007 and it comes through the speakers beautifully. It’s a little odd how both the restoration and scoring aren’t addressed in the provided release information, but one cannot complain about the work itself.
Regarding the packaging, Finis Terrae follows in the usual styling as other Eureka Entertainment titles. The limited-edition run of 2,000 includes an O-card slipcover (somewhat flimsy) with different artwork than the liner. In this case, it’s designed by John Dunn and features a perspective shot of the four island workers from behind with the lighthouse lit up and in the distance. Rather than the black-and-white of the liner and inside of the case, the slip features dark natural tones (browns, blacks, golden hues, with some blues and whites among the choppy seas) in presenting the world of the film. If the title itself means “land’s end,” then Dunn truly does capture that sensation, even if the film doesn’t entirely. The back features four stills from the film, all of the edition information, and all of the release information. Once removed, the front liner is more minimal with a still of one visible individual standing in the area where the island workers burn the seaweed, the title and director credit in the top middle of the image. The back is similar as the slip minus the four stills and the natural tones. As the case is clear plastic, we can see the inside of the liner which spans both sides of the interior, showing Jean-Marie mid-stride on the rocky terrain portion of the island near the water.
A still from FINIS TERRAE. Photo courtesy of Eureka Entertainment.
Admittedly, the film itself is not necessarily provocative or enthralling. Part of this is due to the minimal use of text cards, requiring that the audience put forward their own meaning into the performances we see on-screen. Thankfully, even without the dialogue cards, we can, at minimum, understand the relationships among the characters so that when Jean-Marie and Ambroise come into conflict that sets up Ambroise for his injury and, then, the perception of laziness (because he doesn’t tell anyone he has an infection that’s threatening his physical health), we understand the stakes that are at play. What does make one sit up, if you will, is the way in which Epstein frames the conflicts in the film, of which there are many. In the literal sense, there’s old versus young as even when Jean-Marie learns that Ambroise is sick, the two older workers don’t listen, forcing Jean-Marie to take Ambroise by boat alone to get help from the mainland. The older men only see value in productivity and are disinterested in slowing down to help someone else. Especially with their fresh water ration running low (provided solely by rain and they are experiencing a drought), the men harangue Ambroise for using fresh water to clean his hands, attacking his masculinity for doing so rather than asking why he needs to clean himself with their scarce water. A simple question or invocation of curiosity would’ve helped discover the truth, though that, of course, is less dramatic. In the metaphysical sense, Finis Terrae is about humanity versus nature and nature keeps winning no matter what humanity does. Nature gave these people seaweed in abundance and humanity transforms it in order to raise profits, but doing so places the workers in extreme situations that they must survive. Ambroise first tries to leave the island in secret, but can’t because there’s no wind and Jean-Marie struggles with the same issue when he tries to help Ambroise. Look to Ambroise, the poor kid, who may die due to an infection on his thumb despite being in great health otherwise. Nature will find a way to defeat humanity if we continue to possess the hubris to believe that we can control it. So, while the execution of the narrative may not grab the audience, the ideas within it are so potently rich and viable to today that one still remains curious to see how the narrative ends.
If you’re not familiar with Jean Epstein’s work, the 4K HD restoration from Eureka of Finis Terrae along with the included materials provide a strong starting point from which to begin expanding further. Like with past titles, Eureka has taken pains to produce an edition that looks as good in your hands as it does when projected while also providing rich supplemental materials. That’s what makes editions like those in The Masters of Cinema series — Running on Karma (2003), Legend of the Eight Samurai (1983), and Hong Kong 1941 (1984) — worthwhile to explore, they frequently give you just enough to whet your appetite for additional discovery.
Finis Terrae Special Features:
- Limited Edition of 2,000 copies
- Limited edition O-card slipcase featuring new artwork by John Dunn
- Limited edition collector’s booklet featuring a new essay on Finis Terrae by Jean Epstein expert Christophe Wall-Romana and archival writing by the director
- Finis Terrae presented in 1080p HD from a 4K restoration by Gaumont Film Company
- Optional English subtitles
- *NEW*The Call of the Sea – film historian and critic Pamela Hutchinson on Finis Terrae (17:32)
- *NEW* Strangers in Strange Lands: Life at the End of the World – by Eddie Falvey (20:32)
- Capturing the Real – archival interview with French film historian and archivist Joël Daire (11:04)
Available on Blu-ray August 12th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Eureka Entertainment Finis Terrae webpage.
To purchase, head to the official MVD Entertainment Group Finis Terrae webpage.
Share this:
Categories: Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews
Leave a Reply