THE BROWN BUNNY. Written and Directed By Vincent Gallo. Starring Vincent Gallo and Chloe Sevigny. **CONTAINS SPOILERS** Watching this film is like being stuck in the mind and journey of the main character Bud Clay for 93 minutes straight (or longer, but the film was cut shorter sadly) and feeling what he is going through at every minute as the film goes on. It's almost like your in the car with him looking out the window seeing the sights he sees on his way to Los Angeles. Bud Clay is finishing a motorcycle race, doing laps round and round, over and over. After the race he is leaving New Hampshire. He loads up his bike by himself in the back on his brown van getting ready for his long trip to Los Angeles, California. He's going to go back to his home he once shared with his girlfriend Daisy Lemon and to compete in yet another race which is in 5 days. On his way he interacts with 3 different ladies - all of which have names of various flowers. None of these girls can really compare to the true flower he adores, the one woman he will always be devoted to which is of course, Daisy. The first woman he comes across is Violet who is a young sweet American girl working at a gas station in the boonies... after he fills his gas tank, Bud begs her to come with him on the trip and she agrees without a lot of hesitation to leave everything behind. He drops her off at her parents place so she can get her belongings and while she's still inside, he takes off in his van. After this he takes a stop in his old neighborhood where he grew up with Daisy as a child... and he goes to her old house where her parents are still living. While he stops to have a chat with her elderly parents and goes on to tell a few memories... we notice a small bunny in a cage that hasn't grown at all since the last time Bud has seen it, which is Daisy's rabbit. Her parents claim to not remember Bud or even coming to visit him and Daisy a while ago in L.A. Bud leaves the house and we watch him drive and drive, we ride with him through the dark nights, and through the rainy days... we see him imagine Daisy is in the passenger seat of the van kissing him. The next woman he comes across while getting a soda at the machine is a middle aged woman who has the name Lilly in big letters written on her purse. She is sitting all alone at a picnic table eyeing up Bud as he gets out of his Van at the rest stop. He begins making out with her overpoweringly...of course, he doesn't stick around and pulls away from her, and continues on his way. As Bud is driving you can sense all his sadness through the simple shots of his face expressions and it's clear he's beyond precarious... Finally, he makes it to Las Vegas and picks up this prostitute with the name of Rose... he asks her to have lunch with him and buys her food at McDonalds, tells her to get out of the van and gives her some money and takes off once again. When he reaches L.A. he fixes up his bike and then goes to repeatedly knock on the door of the home that him and Daisy once lived which looks deserted. He places a note on the door telling her his location and what hotel he's staying at. He checks into the hotel and sits on the bed awaiting her arrival... suddenly we see lovely Daisy standing at the door and it all comes clean from there...Bud is upset with her and is very cold when she tries to comfort him. It's all clear he wants her more than ever but has this hate burning up inside for her for what she has done to him in the past when they were together and it's difficult for him to show her the right amount of affection. This leads to the big blow job scene that everyone gets so worked up over, I think the scene has a moral purpose and I actually think highly of it ... it's not a dirty pornographic scene but a perfect explanation for why he has such revulsion towards her. (do not read ahead if you don't want to know the ending!) They begin to discuss the past and Bud just cries out to her asking "WHY" she did what she did to him... it's painful to sit through, a whole flashback is revealed where everything that happened is exposed. Bud left Daisy at a party with 3 guys who raped her when she was high and unconscious... he saw this and didn't even make an attempt to try and stop it. He felt like he could never forgive her for getting wasted and seeing her with other these other men. Once he left her, there was no one left to help her and she choked. We realize that Daisy Lemon isn't actually alive, she arrived at the hotel room because it was a creation by Bud's own imagination... she is no longer by his side after this and Bud is laying on the empty bed all by himself. Perhaps he is still in a safe place with Daisy, his brown bunny, but only in his mind. Still
no matter what, Bud Clay will remain lost the rest of his life without her. I give this film a 10/10 without a doubt... I think Gallo is one amazing man and I am proud of him for making such a brilliant and unique masterpiece, too bad people look down on it like they do. Anyone who enjoyed it... check out the soundtrack, that is also an astonishing piece of work.
Reviews
4 Reviews
The Brown Bunny
(2003)
Searching for a safe place and for the lost brown bunny...
30 December 2004
Warning: Spoilers
Ween Live in Chicago
(2004 Video)
Boognish rocks on forever!
21 December 2004
Any fan of Ween should check this DVD out... even if you don't know who the beautiful Boognish Brothers are, you should check them out NOW. Ween always puts on the best performances, but this show is seriously going to be rockin anyones socks off! It picks up right in the beginning with "Buckingham Green" and ends with a grand finale of "The Blarney Stone" ... this DVD just keeps you grooving the whole time and makes you feel like your really there ... and Deaners guitar solos are off the wall amazing it's totally killer. There are only a few bonus features... not many, I think there should of been some interviews at least or something... but the whole show is enough in the package... believe me, it's so worth buying. The DVD also comes with a CD with a bunch of live rad songs from the show... Ween continues to rock... VIVA LA BOOGNISH!
The Law of Enclosures
(2000)
The Red Deer was Spotted ...
12 December 2004
THE LAW OF ENCLOSURES. Starring Sarah Polley, Brendan Fletcher, Diane Ladd, and Sean McCann *****SPOILERS*****
I will start this review off by saying... this film is like no other I have seen in my lifetime... the feeling you have after it's finished is so over powering and astounding. I don't want to give away everything since this movie is hard to put into words in the first place, it's a realistically painful movie to sit through, you'll have to definitely see it for yourself to get the whole picture. The idea was taken from a novel by Dale Peck and turned into this beautiful creation directed by John Greyson... the movie is set in Sarnia, Ontario Canada in 1991. The story focuses on two couples struggling during the backdrop of the Gulf War in the Middle East, switching back and forth through out the film to two different lives and how everything effects them. The story starts with the younger couple... Beatrice and Henry. Beatrice is alone and lost working at the grocery store with her best friend Myra. She has to go through the same boring trials and tribulations as any normal young adult would... but her other half Henry has one unusual dilemma that could be fatal. Beatrice is instantly smitten was she sees the tumor on the back of his bald head while standing in line at a drug store... she is even told by the cashier that he has aids and is a "fag" plain and simple that isn't worth her time. Still, she doesn't know him... but that doesn't stop her from trying to see something in him that other people don't give the time to see... She wants to see what's underneath all his pain. She won't keep her eyes off him and this leads to her following him home ... she basically starts to stalk him. The connection that starts off their relationship is obvious after she confronts him and gains his trust. It happens fast, but Henry is very distant and has never experienced a loving relationship ever in his life. Once they become close it's tough on them and awfully painful for Beatrice to have this hanging over her head that any day Henry has to have this operation and it's a 90% chance she will never see him again... but the love they created will give young Henry something to live for. The other couple which are a lot older (Henry and Bea) have been married for over 40 years ... they go through the same routine everyday and have the same vicious arguments constantly. They are so bitter and cold, and hatred ends up isolating them from one another. Their opening scene begins with Hank telling Bea to "stop being such a c*nt." With the old couple it appears nothing will get better... but as you see through out the film, the tables turn with both relationships drastically, everything flips to the opposite. What I found very unique was that there's this comparison to the Gulf War during the movie... showing flashes of it off and on, it's always playing on the television that each of the character are watching as a hint to the viewers. There's also a symbolic meaning with the Red Deer that is spotted in the very beginning of the film, it goes to show that love is rare and sooner or later what you created will fade. There's always another time for it to come back around again though after all... the references in this movie are incredibly meaningful yet hidden... they remind us how things we love will eventually be detonated in the end and everything in life is counted down to that very last number until there's nothing left anymore. You'll end up seeing how Bea and Hank end up bringing back the love they once had for each other times ten, similar to what Beatrice and Henry first started off with... and you'll see how the young couple go downhill and their relationship turns into pure resentment and depression. I must say, the score for this film by Andrew Zealley and Don Pyle makes it even better and puts you through a maze... you get so into the movie, it grabs you in for an disturbing and emotional experience.
I will start this review off by saying... this film is like no other I have seen in my lifetime... the feeling you have after it's finished is so over powering and astounding. I don't want to give away everything since this movie is hard to put into words in the first place, it's a realistically painful movie to sit through, you'll have to definitely see it for yourself to get the whole picture. The idea was taken from a novel by Dale Peck and turned into this beautiful creation directed by John Greyson... the movie is set in Sarnia, Ontario Canada in 1991. The story focuses on two couples struggling during the backdrop of the Gulf War in the Middle East, switching back and forth through out the film to two different lives and how everything effects them. The story starts with the younger couple... Beatrice and Henry. Beatrice is alone and lost working at the grocery store with her best friend Myra. She has to go through the same boring trials and tribulations as any normal young adult would... but her other half Henry has one unusual dilemma that could be fatal. Beatrice is instantly smitten was she sees the tumor on the back of his bald head while standing in line at a drug store... she is even told by the cashier that he has aids and is a "fag" plain and simple that isn't worth her time. Still, she doesn't know him... but that doesn't stop her from trying to see something in him that other people don't give the time to see... She wants to see what's underneath all his pain. She won't keep her eyes off him and this leads to her following him home ... she basically starts to stalk him. The connection that starts off their relationship is obvious after she confronts him and gains his trust. It happens fast, but Henry is very distant and has never experienced a loving relationship ever in his life. Once they become close it's tough on them and awfully painful for Beatrice to have this hanging over her head that any day Henry has to have this operation and it's a 90% chance she will never see him again... but the love they created will give young Henry something to live for. The other couple which are a lot older (Henry and Bea) have been married for over 40 years ... they go through the same routine everyday and have the same vicious arguments constantly. They are so bitter and cold, and hatred ends up isolating them from one another. Their opening scene begins with Hank telling Bea to "stop being such a c*nt." With the old couple it appears nothing will get better... but as you see through out the film, the tables turn with both relationships drastically, everything flips to the opposite. What I found very unique was that there's this comparison to the Gulf War during the movie... showing flashes of it off and on, it's always playing on the television that each of the character are watching as a hint to the viewers. There's also a symbolic meaning with the Red Deer that is spotted in the very beginning of the film, it goes to show that love is rare and sooner or later what you created will fade. There's always another time for it to come back around again though after all... the references in this movie are incredibly meaningful yet hidden... they remind us how things we love will eventually be detonated in the end and everything in life is counted down to that very last number until there's nothing left anymore. You'll end up seeing how Bea and Hank end up bringing back the love they once had for each other times ten, similar to what Beatrice and Henry first started off with... and you'll see how the young couple go downhill and their relationship turns into pure resentment and depression. I must say, the score for this film by Andrew Zealley and Don Pyle makes it even better and puts you through a maze... you get so into the movie, it grabs you in for an disturbing and emotional experience.
Jimmy Zip
(1999)
Good story line... Brendan Fletcher shines
11 November 2004
I thought the acting was great from the two main actors, especially Brendan Fletcher... he is going to be on his way to some bigger movies. I didn't really think Adrienne Frantz fit the role of Shelia... the movie could of been a bit more realistic on the whole theme with runaways. I did like how Robert McGinley built up the suspense though with the drug dealer going after Jimmy and all the problems that kept coming at him no matter how hard he tried. The connection and friendship between Horrace and Jimmy was really neat.. he helped Jimmy get all his anger out and created art with it. Parts were really strong when he would freak out and start screaming with all his rage. Everyone see check this film out... it's not bad, not bad at all.
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