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Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 5

Though it in no way captures the true meaning of Christmas, there's something about Billy Wilder's The Apartment that seems particularly fitting this year. Maybe that's why I've seen it pop up on several blogs over the past few weeks?

I received several questions about the reference in the alt-text clue. The film's titular apartment is located at 205 Columbus Avenue, which is now the home of The Emerald Inn, a rather typical, nondescript Irish pub on the Upper West Side.

A quick bit of self-promotion before I bid an adieu to 2008: Hong Sang-soo's Woman on the Beach was released by New Yorker Films on DVD yesterday. Included in the package is an interview I conducted with him several weeks ago, and I'm quite pleased with the way it turned out. 

I wanted to find an equally dour New Year's Eve film for the final quiz of 2008, but (as usual) I waited until the last possible minute. Though it's not quite what I was looking for, there's certainly not a lot of Happy at this New Year's Eve party. Name this wonderful film. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck, and here's hoping next year finds us all in better spirits.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 4

One of the key members of the Algonquin Round Table, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker in their salad days, Robert Benchley (grandfather of Peter "Jaws" Benchley) also appeared in over eighty films, including the not-terribly-funny Road to Zanzibar Utopia, one of the many Hope & Crosby road pictures that were made between 1940 and 1962. Benchley appears as himself, popping up from time to time to help explain the no-explanation-needed plot. Hell, it was a paycheck.

Well, it's Christmas week, and things are busy chez Filmbrain, as I imagine they are for all of you. Naturally, I had to choose something with a holiday theme, so why not a portrait of an office party back in the day when impropriety was the rule rather than the exception. Name this not-terribly-joyous film. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck, and a very happy holiday to you all!

Things Fall Apart: Top Ten Films of 2008

For many people, myself included, 2008 was a pretty dire year. Some of us lost jobs, some of us lost money, some of us lost both, and nearly all of us experienced, to some degree, the ramifications of the economic crisis. The Obama win provided us with a much-needed dose of hope, but the news this week that Rick Warren, a figurehead for the Christian-right, will be giving the invocation is nothing short of sickening. Is this a sign of what we can expect from his administration?

Film-wise, things weren't much better, especially here in the US. Compared to 2007, which saw studio films of substance (There Will be Blood, Zodiac, The Assassination of Jesse James, No Country For Old Men), this year's crop offered little to trigger the kind of discussion the above list prompted at this time last year.

Over the past several weeks I've had the opportunity to see nearly all of the big December titles, and I'm still bewildered at the fact that each and every one was, at best, little more than an exercise in mediocrity and awards whoring. Not a single one of them required even the slightest brain power, nor did they leave anything to interpret. Australia, Milk, Nixon, Button, Torino, Reader, Road, etc. -- films not without merit, but examples of Indie- and Hollywood at their populist, spoon-fed worst. My irritation was such that, for a short while, I was considering taking a cue from Robert Bresson and submitting the following for a top ten:

1. Synecdoche, NY
2. Synecdoche, NY
3. City Lights
4.  
5.  
6.  
7.  
8.  
9.  
10.  

but then I realized that such an acrimonious response is counter-productive at best.

So, after careful consideration, meditation and cogitation, here's a top ten list that I'm proud to call my own. Rationale behind each choice will appear in an extended post on The Auteurs. I'll provide the link when it becomes available.

In ranked order, my top ten favorite films of 2008 are:

1. Synecdoche, NY, Charlie Kaufman, USA
2. In the City of Sylvia, José Luis Guerín, Spain
3. A Christmas Tale, Arnaud Desplechin, France
4. The Secret of the Grain, Abdel Kechiche, France
5. Funky Forest: The First Contact, Katsuhito Ishii/Hajime Ishimine/Shunichiro Miki, Japan
6. Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Woody Allen, USA
7. Reprise, Joachim Trier, Norway
8. Paranoid Park, Gus Van Sant, USA
9. I Served the King of England, Jirí Menzel, Czech Republic
10. Waltz With Bashir, Ari Folman, Israel

[UPDATE: My extended post is now online over at The Auteurs]

Undistributed, But Not Unloved: Top Ten of 2008

When it comes to end of year top tens, I find the undistributed lists far more interesting (and useful) than the standard ones which, naturally, have a lot of overlap. Learning about a film that's been tucked away at festivals or simply never found its way to these shores is (for me, at least) endlessly fascinating, especially when the recommendation comes from someone whose taste you trust.

Between festivals, film markets, submissions to Benten, and the luxury of living in NYC, I'm afforded many opportunities to see films that might never find US distribution. If I had my way (and an endless supply of cash) I'd happily acquire and distribute all of the below. As it stands, one or two are strong possibilities. Fingers crossed.

I'm adhering to the IndieWire Poll rules for my list, which disqualifies any film that has a US distributor, even if no release date is set. This means that Erick Zonca's Julia, still one of my favorites of the year, will not appear on the list below.

In ranked order, my top ten undistributed films of 2008 are:

1. Du Levande (You, The Living), Roy Andersson, Sweden
   The second best film I saw this year, and one that will find a permanent place on my all-time favorites list. Andersson's surreal series of vignettes is aesthetically similar to 2000's Songs From the Second Floor, but tonally its antipode. Andersson calls this "a film about the grandeur of existing", and there are no better words to describe this occasionally joyous, life-affirming masterpiece.

2. Sparrow, Johnnie To, Hong Kong
   The prolific Johnnie To takes a break from guns and gangsters to create a wonderful homage to both Jacques Demy and Hong Kong itself. A musical without songs, this film had me smiling from the first frame to the last.

3. Night and Day, Hong Sang-soo, Korea
   Reviewed here.

4. Tony Manero, Pablo Larrain, Chile
   Larrain's darker than dark portrait of Pinochet-era Chile is bleak, disturbing, and brilliant. Did I mention it's dark? I recorded a podcast about the film with Aaron Hillis and Time Out film critic David Fear that can be heard here.

5. United Red Army, Koji Wakamatsu, Japan
   Wakamatsu's three-hour docudrama about Japan's notorious leftist guerilla group is as brutal as the beatings its members inflict upon themselves. See Danny Kasman's excellent review over at The Auteurs.

6. Jesus Christus Erlöser (Jesus Christ Savior), Peter Geyer, Germany
   1971. Klaus Kinski stands alone on a stage in front of 5000 people and attempts to read his own version of the New Testament. Things don't go well. Klaus has tantrums. Chaos ensues. The screening in Berlin was made even better thanks to Jurgen's smuggled flask of Absinthe.

7. Voy a Explotar (I'm Gonna Explode), Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico
   Reviewed here.

8. Guest of Cindy Sherman, Tom Donahue/Paul H-O, USA
   One of the best films at this year's Tribeca Film Festival, this candid, confessional documentary about co-director Paul H-O's now-defunct relationship with photographer Cindy Sherman is surprisingly moving, and an interesting study of both the NY art world and what it's like to be a celebrity's "plus one."

9. Anvil! The Story of Anvil, Sacha Gervasi, Canada
   I have to admit that for the first ten or fifteen minutes I was convinced this was a Spinal Tap-esque mockumentary. (That one of the band members is named Robb Reiner certainly didn't help me think otherwise.) Yet Sacha Gervasi's doc about a once-famous heavy metal band that is determined to make it big for a second time is both a funny and touching underdog story, with just the right amount of pathos. One of the few movies this year that made me well up.

10. Chugyeogja (The Chaser), Na Hong-jin, Korea
    Like Memories of Murder and The Host, The Chaser is yet another example of how Korean cinema excels at transforming and transcending genre. A smartly written, thoroughly unpredictable thriller that, save for a few minutes near the end, never succumbs to cliché. Both humorous and horrifying, it becomes that much more impressive when you realize it's director Na Hong-jin's first film. Halfway through I found myself wondering why Hollywood hasn't bought the rights yet. Oh wait, they have. With Leonardo, no less. Sigh.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 3

No, this isn't going to be an all Blake Edwards round, though in hindsight that might not have been such a bad idea. The second film in the series, A Shot in the Dark, was actually made one year prior to The Pink Panther, but was shelved when studio heads felt it had no box office potential. (It made $12 million in 1964 -- shows what they know.)    

Speaking of the Panther series, I remain a bit speechless over the announcement that The Pink Panther II will be screened as part of the Competition programme at next year's Berlinale (though, thankfully, out of competition.) I understand that the festival wants to have its share of red carpet moments, but this? Do you suppose director Harold (One Night at McCools) Zwart ever imagined he'd be rolling this thing out in such a grand fashion? I don't get it....  

This week -- one for the literary set. (Yes, I'm looking at you Trixie.) If you can recognize this midtown regular, the rest should come easy...maybe. Name the film. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Five and a Half Minutes in the City of Sylvia

Beginning tomorrow, 12 December, José Luis Guerín's magnificent study of the male gaze, En la Ciudad de Sylvia (In the City of Sylvia) is getting a week-long run at the Anthology Film Archives, which clearly means that something on my 2008 best-of list is going to get bumped. You can read my review from the 2007 New York Film Festival here.

Coincidentally, I recently received the film on DVD, and have watched it about six times in the past few days. Yes, it's that good.

As a gift, I thought I'd share 5:30 of the film with you. I struggled with my choice, as there are just so many wonderful scenes, but in the end opted for the sequence at Les Aviateurs. I love the goth girls at the end...

I wish the quality were better, but both YouTube and Vimeo apply heavy compression. If anyone knows of a site that allows streaming of high-quality Quicktime files, please let me know.

Enjoy! (Crossposted to my Tumblr page.)

In the City of Sylvia from Filmbrain on Vimeo.

Alternate YouTube link should the above not work.

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 2

The 1963 film that introduced the world to Inspector Jacques Clouseau (a character the studios just can't get enough of), Blake Edwards' The Pink Panther may not be the funniest of the series, but has always been a personal favorite, owing to countless TV viewings of the film during childhood. As nearly all of you noted, that's David Niven and Robert Wagner in the gorilla suits, doing a variation of the famous Marx Brothers mirror scene. 

As it is every December, I'm playing catch-up on 2008 releases that I've missed as well as racing to screenings of the year's upcoming titles, in the hopes that one might end on my best-of list. As far as the big holiday titles go, not a single one has rocked my boat, as it were, though I've yet to see Revolutionary Road (next week!) though as a big fan of the novel, my hopes are somewhat tempered.

This week -- an all male nude band just in time for the Christmas season. I assure you this isn't the start of a trend for the round, just a bit of laziness on my part. Name the film. Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!

Filmbrain's Screen Capture Quiz: Round 18, Week 1

Greetings, all! Welcome to the start of yet another round of Filmbrain's weekly screen capture quiz, the barely-legal round 18!

After the grueling all-Brittany edition that was round 17, we're back to the usual free-for-all format, which translates to using whatever DVD captures my eye on Tuesday night. A quick overview of the rules for any newcomers: Each Wednesday morning a new screen capture quiz will be posted. All films come from my personal collection, and are limited to Region 1 releases. Answers may be submitted, via email, up until the morning of the following quiz. (Please don't post answers in the comments section.) Some quizzes may contain an additional bonus point question, which is a good opportunity to flex your cinephilic muscles and show 'em what you got. At the end of twelve weeks, the top three scorers will be allowed to choose any DVD used in the round as a prize.   

We'll begin the round with an easy one. I ask you.....what's funnier than two guys in gorilla suits? Well, just about everything in fact, but that's not the point. In which film will you find this pair of costumed simians? And to spice things up a bit, how about a bonus point question -- who are the actors inside the furry duds? Submit your answers to this address. Good luck!