Almost universally disliked by audiences, I simply cannot explain my love for this film without it being rejected by haters or fence-sitters. I've met barely anyone who's loved it anywhere near as much as me, but goddamn it I do.

Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny, for which he is credited as actor, director, producer, writer, cinematographer, editor, production designer, art director, set decorator, costume designer, makeup artist, set designer, and camera operator, may not be his best film, but it is certainly his most personal and his most effective.

It is a simple story of a man in mourning for his lost love, driving in silence across the American countryside to meet her. Despite the clichés that seem automatically associated…

This was an absolutely raw, vulnerable, and purposefully pitiful film...unsimulated sad blowjobs and all. It's essentially the spatio-temporal (aka cinematic) representation of loss within a (fragile) masculine framework. Not to spoil too much, but our Bud Clay (Gallo) essentially travels endlessly, only to stop to feed/refuel or ride his bike to nowhere and back. It's the directionless of his mind, stuck between nowhere and the past--even in the periodic breakdowns of the 180-degree rule and spatial cueing that deteriorate any sense of forward direction. Obviously it represents loneliness and lost sense of being, but also a particular brand. The bike itself may represent a masculine vigour that is revved in endless and pitiful (meaningless) posturing across a barren landscape. Throughout,…

Well I can't say I saw that coming. I was ready to toss this thing into the trash pile, and that was just after the infamous scene. Up to that point, it was slow, boring, poorly shot, aimless, controversial for the sake of controversy, and just a very poor experience. Then the film complexly comes together, almost out of nowhere. Few movies I've watched have been able to pick itself up out the gutter that quick, and at the last to possible moment. It makes it really difficult to review given that everything (or almost everything) can now be validated. I still think it is poorly filmed though. And the audio for dialogue is painfully poor. This is a mandatory…

"Why didn't you help me?"
"I didn't know what to do."

I'm not even sure if I agree with my own rating of this film. There isn't much in the way of plot here beyond the vague premise. There are multiple scenes of the main character driving alone in silence, something I've seen in other films and been completely bored by. Yet somehow, in the context of this film, these scenes feel genuinely contemplative and purposive, and they hold my interest. The unconventional yet gorgeous framing and color of the shots certainly helped with this. It all plays out rather slowly, there's no denying that, but the hypnotic nature of this from the visuals and the soundtrack kept me invested.…