Blu-Ray Review: Funan

 

Funan Blu-ray
Independent film is growing, and even with the increase in streaming services, I think the value of home releases are going to explode. For me, I have subscriptions to every streaming service, but also find myself in purchasing films via Vudu which not only lets you buy the digital versions of films, but also will send you the hard copy complete with extra features viewers may find rewarding. This is one of those releases.

For those that don’t know, Funan is an animated film from Dennis Do that follows Chou, a woman living in Cambodia in 1975 that has her life upended during the rise of the Khmer Rouge. A once flourishing and happy life turns into a harrowing tale of slavery at the behest of a totalitarian government that separates Chou from her young son and nearly kills her entire family in the process.

A home release that comes with the first-hand experience about producing the film from Dennis Do, in multiple interviews, is a valuable one. That said, I would have liked to have seen more with a deeper look at the people behind-the-scenes. While we do get animatics and such, I would have liked to have seen more detailed featurettes with the voice actors, directors, and more to really dig into how we get those visuals. Perhaps some insight on how the English dubbed voice actors approached their respective roles.

Funan’s English dub is fantastic and is required watching. Had we seen a bit more investment in the special features, this home release could’ve really helped this film soar into a different stratosphere.