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Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 5 -- Week 9

A sparsely decorated, rather generic hotel room -- just moments before the Citizen Kane of fellatio scenes commences. Is it any wonder an impressive number of you were able to identify Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny (Filmbrain's 11th favorite film of 2004)? It should be noted that a certain film blogger who was less than thrilled with the film was first in with the correct answer -- such is the power of the Gallo. Seeing the film again (on the recently released DVD) resulted in an even greater respect for it, and it is now Filmbrain's dream to one day see the cut that was shown at Cannes. We're at week 9 -- and down to the last four quizzes. Things are going to get much harder from now on -- beginning with one that will definitely separate the Jrs. from the Srs. Name the film, and for a bonus point, name the actor. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

It Never Rains, It Pours

Filmbrain spent a good part of the past four days in a somewhat meditative state. The next few weeks are going to be practically non-stop - between the New York Film Festival, the Shochiku tribute, the Alexander Mackendrick retrospective, new prints of Pickpocket and Mouchette, and some fairly rare Nicholas Ray, September and October in New York City is going to find many a cinephile mainlining Red Bull and Snickers bars.

The 2005 New York Korean Film Festival caught Filmbrain completely by surprise this year, and he is kicking himself for missing the Q&A sessions with Baek Yun-shik & Choi Dong-hun (star and director of The Big Swindle) and Lim Chan-sang (director of The President's Barber). Fortunately, there are still opportunities to catch the gems that the festival has to offer. The following are Filmbrain's personal picks: The Big Swindle -- This brilliantly written heist-comedy with its multi-layered flashbacks and shifting perspectives is full of top-notch performances (including Baek Yun-shik from The President's Last Bang) and is far more interesting and entertaining than any recent Hollywood equivalent. Though this is director Choi Dong-hun's debut feature, it feels like it came from the hand of a master of the genre. Screening on Wednesday 7 September @ 6:50 PM, BAM Rose Cinemas. The President's Barber -- A perfect companion piece to The President's Last Bang, The President's Barber tells of an ordinary man who becomes an accidental hero and winds up as barber to President Park Chung-hee. Starring the wonderful Moon So-ri (Oasis, A Good Lawyer's Wife), this political satire is at times reminiscent of Being There, and, like Im Sang-soo's film on President Park, a clever and daring look at a difficult period in South Korea's history. Screening on Tuesday 6 September @ 9:00 PM, Lighthouse Theater. Spider Forest -- A film that is often (unfairly) grouped under the K-Horror umbrella, this deliberately paced, brooding, mature, psychological drama is more akin to David Lynch than it is to the recent batch of Ring-like horror films that have come out of Korea. Creepy and emotional, this is one that Filmbrain is looking forward to seeing on the big screen. Screening on Friday 9 September @ 9:15 PM, BAM Rose Cinemas. Complete schedule and details can be found HERE. Filmbrain hopes to see you there!

Autumn Begins Right Now

Summer is over! Woo-hoo! Farewell, over-bloated, shallow, irritating, noisy, derivative Hollywood product; hello festivals, retrospectives, and other quality fall filmic fare! The first great film of the autumn season arrives this week -- Abdellatif Kechiche's Games of Love and Chance (L'Esquive). Already one of Filmbrain's picks for best of 2005, it's unlike anything else you're bound to see this year -- vibrant, original, and endlessly fascinating; it's one of those films that restores your faith in the art form. The reviews so far have been quite good, and rightly so. Opens this week in NYC (Filmbrain will be seeing it again for sure), followed by additional cities in the coming weeks. Trust Filmbrain -- this one is too good to miss. Have a great labor(less) day on Monday -- rest up for the great cinematic deluge that arrives over the next three months. (Now, if Filmbrain can only figure out how to be in New York and Pusan at the same time. . .)