Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day
Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day
| 23 March 1996 (USA)
Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day Trailers

The Yosemite Valley Railroad, which runs through the breathtaking scenery and stunning vistas of Yosemite National Park, is on the brink of failure. The grandson of a Chinese railroad laborer embarks on a romantic, but ultimately doomed, quest to save this railroad from being sold for scrap. His love of trains finds him working as a railroad-man, instead of at his father's profitable business. He manages to locate a wealthy eccentric investor to help him acquire the railroad, but its financial inviability makes this a quixotic reprieve, at best. The film also portrays the anti-Asian racism present in America at the conclusion of World War II.

Reviews
Laikals

The greatest movie ever made..!

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Pluskylang

Great Film overall

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PiraBit

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

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Ariella Broughton

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

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joe

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 KhayyamI 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.

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Sheldon Sturges

I remember seeing this at the Toronto Film Festival in 1996, in the then still small Varsity 1 Cinema on Bay & Bloor (the teensy Varsity 1 was a great place to see a movie, being the place where I saw "Dawn of the Dead" for the first time, y'know, the censored version) - What can I say about "Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day" ? It is very dull, not unlike watching paint dry, or attempting to summarize Proust.I have no idea what the director Christopher Munch was getting at with this plodding, though beautifully photographed film; he has a knack for making very slowly-paced films, witness his first film, the fairly impressive "The Hours and the Times", which was about an imagined (though frequently rumoured) affair between Brian Epstein and John Lennon - That film is scarcely an hour long, but seems much longer."Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day" has something to do with trains, as far as I can recall (I fell asleep), and it's 87 minutes seem like an eternity; bonus points for an odd Micheal Stipe performance, where he seems to be channeling Andy Kaufman.

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drosse67

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.

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D. Richard Carlson (dmaestoso)

Film begin with quote taken from Matthew 13:46. "Who, When he had found one Pearl of Great Price, went and sold all that he had and brought it."Very moving railroadmania theme, particular with revolving familiar Los Angeles scene, ie. Los Angeles Passenger Union Terminal (LAPUT) name. Pacific Electric's downtown streetcar routes which aren't there anymore and maintenance shop is a rare interesting layout. Right theme and excellent scope on begone Southern Pacific Railroad (also owned Pacific Electric) exposing former corporate culture. Good job, I think, with historical restoration and award-winning 1996 Sundance Cinematography Award led me to wrongly believe that this film took place in 1950's, era which part of nationwide customary act to abandon railroad lines. Great film to watch those with an entrepreneurial mind with preservation cause.

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