After my eulogy to all that is worldly and indie in cinema, a spanking Blu-ray copy of Gus Van Sant’s skater drama, Paranoid Park, arrived. Without giving too much away (our forthcoming issue will feature the review), the film did come as somewhat of a double-edged sword. With said review mapping out the film’s glories, I see it as being a slight issue when, despite best efforts from both sides – Tartan has given the film a dutiful transfer spec while, to encapsulate, the film itself rocks! – the relationship doesn’t gel when cast in HD.Shot on less than DV quality, 35mm and merged with the kitsch images of Super 8 filming, Van Sant’s indie feel never ceases to shine through. But where the boot doesn’t fit is with Paranoid Park’s HD treatment, although in this case nobody is actually to blame. The distributors and those involved in production have dutifully seen that their product/baby reaches the public, but the aesthetics so vital in creating this left-field piece cannot marry with the future format.Saying this, Paranoid Park needs to be seen to be believed, with its shining qualities hardly dealing a death knell to left-field cinema and its future on Blu-ray.