Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day

I really wanted to like this movie. The visuals are spectacular and the filler shots of vintage Los Angeles are amazing. A lot of work and care went into crafting all of the visuals, from the scenery to props and the whole railroad itself. The story has some serious possibility, even being based on an actual railway (the Yosemite Valley RR did exist and ended operations in 1945 and an 18 yr old kid named John McFadden who worked at the Pacific Electric Railway DID try to save the RR). But, alas, that's where it ends. The acting was painfully flat and almost felt like a first reading of a script at a high school play. None of the characters were even very compelling, except the YVRR itself. There were a couple of throw away scenes that depicted the racism against Asians, but they could have easily landed on the cutting room floor with no loss to the movie. The soundtrack is appropriate, but the abysmal acting kills this movie. It breaks my heart to say it, but with just better acting and a slightly better script and you have a great love letter to railroading history.

This movie bears a major resemblance to the Czech classic Closely Watched Trains, in not only setting (railroads) but also the "losing of one's innocence." Only this movie is not nearly as witty and very much in love with itself. The only aspect that was interesting was the cinematography--you would not think that black and white would do Yosemite Valley justice, but it still looks beautiful. And Michael Stipe's minor character in this movie is just like you'd expect him to be....quirky and somewhat distracted. I saw this film several years ago and the photography and the convoluted plot were the only things I really remember. It's not surprising that this film is not available anywhere.

Black and white film making is elevated into the heavens with Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day. The story of a young Chinese- American struggling to resurrect the historic Yosemite Valley Railroad is a visual treasure. Unlike the brilliant black and white DP's of film noir, this film gives new energy to the screen. The slow pace of the story might put off some, but the pace is perfect for allowing the viewer to look behind the action at the lush setting of the Yosemite park.

One of the most subtly moving films I have ever seen.

It doesn't tell you what to think, it doesn't tell you what to feel; it doesn't tell you anything at all. And for some people that is unbearable. But, it gives you everything.

This film, widely forgotten by many yet passionately loved by a few, ends with a poem which has proved presciently self-referential:

Lo! some we loved, the loveliest and best

That Time and Fate of all their Vintage prest,

Have drunk their Cup a Round or two before,

And one by one crept silently to Rest.

--The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam

I am glad films like this were once able to be made. Perhaps they still can be made, I don't know. This one is a beautiful gem.

Precious bitsy amateurish-sounding dialogue. Hipsterish appearances by Michael Stipe and Henry Gibson (warming up for his MAGNOLIA rocks glass.) A twee setting (railroads in Yosemite!) The earnest, clunky, not-quite-acting acting familiar from homely Sundance cinema. If you want the very definition of everything juiceless, pop-less and minor about the thing that is called "independent filmmaking," you've got it here. The director, Christopher Munch, exudes the personality of an annoyingly soft-spoken, painfully touchy college English major directing his first play and wishing the actors would just be QUIET AND HEAR WHAT HE HAS TO SAY!