The Brown Bunny (2003)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Vincent Gallo

Writer:

Vincent Gallo (written by)

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (Austria)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Professional motorcycle racer Bud Clay heads from New Hampshire to California to race again. Along the way he meets various needy women who provide him with the cure to his own loneliness, but only a certain woman from his past will truly satisfy him.

Plot Keywords:

Love | Motorcycle | New Hampshire | California | Loneliness

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Vincent Gallo	...	Bud Clay
Chloë Sevigny	...	Daisy
Cheryl Tiegs	...	Lilly
Elizabeth Blake	...	Rose
Anna Vareschi	...	Violet
Mary Morasky	...	Mrs. Lemon
Jeffrey Wood	...	Featured Racer
Eric Wood	...	Featured Racer
Michael Martire	...	Featured Racer
Rick Doucette	...	Featured Racer
Jim Lester	...	Featured Racer
Michael Niksa	...	Featured Racer

Runtime:

93 min | Canada:90 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | France:119 min (Cannes Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Japan | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | Ireland:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | New Zealand:R18 | Canada:18+ (Quebec) (DVD rating) | Canada:R (Manitoba/Ontario) (DVD rating) | Italy:VM18 | Brazil:18 | Finland:K-18 | France:-16 | Portugal:M/18 | Switzerland:18 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:18 (canton of Vaud) | USA:Not Rated | Sweden:15 | Australia:R | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Best Western Inn - 6141 Franklin Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Kinetique

Trivia:

Chloë Sevigny claimed in interviews that the fellatio scene was not simulated.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: When driving through St. Louis, it shows him crossing the Mississippi River from Illinois to Missouri via the Poplar Street Bridge. Soon after, he's shown driving on Hwy 40 through Saint Louis, but in the opposite direction. He's actually traveling back towards the Illinois side of the Mississippi River.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Bud walks up to a young woman, working behind the counter in a gas station store]
Bud Clay: Hi.
Violet: Hello... Did you just come from the race track?
Bud Clay: Mmhm.
Violet: Did you win?
Bud Clay: No.
Violet: Oh.
Bud Clay: How much is this?
Violet: $2... Will you be racing again?
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Sixth Sense (1999)

Soundtrack:

Tears for Dolphy

Worked for me.

I saw Buffalo 66 long before I started posting reviews at imdb, so I haven't written about that film but I loved it, I give it a 10, and after seeing The Brown Bunny at the Nuart on Saturday evening, I am here to report that I give Gallo's second feature film the same rating.

A lot of people seem to be misunderstanding this movie, or just not appreciating it, or perhaps both. There are many reasons for this, none of them valid in my estimation. The biggest protests, from what I've been reading, seem to be in the 'lack of plot' and 'vanity project' areas.

I can understand how the film would be a little slow for a lot of people, since it's basically an internal study, with none of the 'usual' mainstream (or even indy film) tactics. And in fact that's what I loved the most about the movie - how Gallo has the artistic wherewithal to be true to HIS vision of what a film can be, to how a plot of a film (and there IS a plot) can be played out in a different, less recognizable way, which leads to one of the reasons I think people are calling this a vanity project (aside from the infamous scene toward the end -- which I have to say is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL to the film, once you find out what's really going on with our sick puppy Bud Clay) : because the movie doesn't follow a 'typical' set-up, requiring a bit more patience on the part of the viewer, a lot of people feel more comfortable dismissing this unbelievably profound piece of work as a 'vanity project'. In reality, I believe the opposite is true: Gallo is giving his audience more credit than they perhaps deserve, in presenting such a stark, uncompromising character study. The fact that a lot of this audience chooses not to accept him on his terms does not diminish his power and the power of this movie. Can't wait for the next one, Vincent.