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Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 4 -- TIEBREAKER 2

Girish had this to say about last week's quiz - "A desert island film if ever there was one". How right he is. Under thirty minutes in length, and made up of a series of still photos, Chris Marker's La Jetée is truly one of those films you never tire of watching, and one in which you can still discover something new even after repeated viewings. Though remade (sort of) by Terry Gilliam as Twelve Monkeys, the original is the one worth seeking out. Easily one of the greatest short films of all time. The list of contenders for third place has grown significantly smaller -- this might very well be the final week of the round. What's going on in the picture below, and why? Send your answers to this address. Good luck, and check back next week for (hopefully) the start of Round 5!

Fallout from the Kim's raid?

A few weeks ago, the independent CD and DVD store Mondo Kim's was raided by the police and five employees were taken away in handcuffs. Before the facts were known, blogs and boards all over the net were speculating about the event, and Kim's bashers came out in full force. From endless chatter about the arrogant, sneering staff, to comments about how the DVD bootleggers got what they deserved, there was a lot of unjustified hostility. It turned out that the raid had nothing to do with the video store, but rather with the RIAA cracking down on stores that sell illegal mixtapes. (The charges against the five who were arrested were lowered to misdemeanor charges.) A few days later, Filmbrain stopped in to the video store to chat with the rental guys about the raid, and he learned that Assistant Manager Sean Williams had been fired by Mr. Kim for no apparent reason. Was it in someway connected to the raid? Nobody knew. Sean was a great guy, and a die-hard film fan. He was just as comfortable discussing Claire Denis as he was Shuji Terayama, 70s cinema, or obscure Italian Westerns -- he really knew his stuff. With his laid-back demeanor and a more-than-passing resemblance to Jason Lee, he was friend to many a film lover, and a lot of fun to talk to. Along with co-workers Alex, Brian, and Chris, there was a vast wealth of knowledge behind that counter, and we'd often swap stories about things seen at various festivals, rare videos, etc. As for attitude and sneering -- Filmbrain was never witness to any of that. Sure, there were differing opinions about a particular film, but when isn't that the case amongst film buffs? The loss of Sean is a huge loss to the store, as well as the customers. He was fairly influential in some of the buying decisions, especially of the non-Region 1 titles. Over the years he's made some wonderful suggestions, and there are many films that Filmbrain would have normally passed over had it not been for his recommendations. It's more than a little odd that Mr. Kim would fire Sean without reason. There has been speculation as to why he might have done so, including some quotes attributed to Sean in the Village Voice. However, that article was printed days after he was fired. So, why did it happen? There have been a few resignations since the incident, and it seems that more will follow. As sole owner of the business, it is Mr. Kim's prerogative to let go of an employee -- with or without reason. (Is that legal?) It appears, however, that he places his own interests over those of his customers by doing so. At the same time, it is our choice as customers to decide if we wish to continue spending money there. This is not a call for a boycott -- Filmbrain isn't trying to sway anybody's opinion, but for the time being his personal decision is to no longer patronize the place. As for Sean, should he land at another video store, it will most definitely be their gain. Please feel free to leave your thoughts/comments below.