AFERIM! hits Blu-ray/DVD -- with an additional and delightful short film included

One of the year's best foreign language films (though it was sadly overlooked by the Academy in terms of last year's BFLF nominees) -- AFERIM! -- will arrive on Blu-ray and DVD this coming week. TrustMovies covered the film at length this past January (you can find my review here), so I will only suggest that if you missed the brief theatrical foray of this luscious black-and-white wonder, be sure to add it to your Netflix queue or find some other way to view it on Blu-ray. It not only holds up well, it grows better and richer on a second viewing.

Another reason to see the video release is the chance to watch a short film made by the same Romanian director, Radu Jude. Titled The Tube With a Hat, this 2006 work tells of a father/son short-term-but-heavy-going road trip to fix a broken TV set. Lasting but 23 minutes, this little gem encapsulates a whole world (including the intensive labor it takes to get things done in that world) that may seem strange and backward to Americans -- but also kind of humane and wonderful, too.

From the increasingly vital Big World Pictures, the Blu-ray and DVD of Aferim! and The Tube With the Hat will hit the street this coming Tuesday, June 28, for purchase or rental.