Color of a Brisk and Leaping Day

This 1996 film takes its title from a poem by Octavio Paz, but it feels like a misnomer since there is no color (it is shot in black-and-white) and the pace is closer to leisurely and pedestrian than brisk and leaping. Set in the late 1940s, the film stars Peter Alexander as a young man of mixed Chinese and French heritage whose goal it is to save a short-line railroad that chugs through Yosemite Valley. The man's Chinese immigrant grandfather labored on that line during its construction, though it is unclear whether ethnic pride is the driving force behind his efforts at railroad preservation or whether he is just plain locomotive loco. In fact, it is hard to determine the driving force behind the film itself, as director Christopher Münch introduces a number of narrative threads but never bothers to complete any of them (the central character may or may not have an incestuous relationship with his sister, and it is unclear about the level of sexual attraction he feels to both a lovely Native American park ranger, played by Jeri Arredondo, and a taciturn railroad clerk, played by R.E.M. lead singer Michael Stipe, who is terrible here). Ultimately, the central image of a short train ride to nowhere is the perfect symbol for this rather pointless movie, which--except for Rob Sweeney's award-winning monochromatic cinematography (which captures the style of Ansel Adams' iconic photography) and the novelty of seeing Stipe act (he's not made any films since)--has little to recommend it. [Note: DVD extras the include 13-minute featurette “Yosemite Valley Railroad Revisited,” five minutes of audio-less “Scenic Outtakes,” a text bio of filmmaker Christopher Munch, and a trailer. Bottom line: a small extras package for a small, forgettable film.] (P. Hall)