Soi Cowboy (Clay, 2008)

[Oedipax]

Just noticed this has a R2 UK release courtesy of Network! I've got the disc on order and will report back about the quality when I receive my copy. I've been very interested in this one since reading various impressions here on the forum and elsewhere when it played at Cannes two years ago. Not much more to report, just figured others might appreciate a heads up as this one seemed to slip under the radar a bit.

[Awesome Welles]

This one has been consistently delayed since late last year. Hopefully it will actually make the current release date.

[Oedipax]

This one has been consistently delayed since late last year. Hopefully it will actually make the current release date.

Doesn't look like it, unfortunately. Ordered April 1, still hasn't shipped as of April 12.

[lord patchogue]

It seems it starts shipping as of April 19th according to Network's website

[Oedipax]

Got this from Amazon UK just now:

We regret to inform you that the following items have been delayed as we are still awaiting stock from our suppliers :

"Soi Cowboy [DVD] [2007]"
Estimated arrival date: April 28 2010 - May 11 2010

It's Histoire(s) du Cinéma all over again!

[Nothing]

Along with Persian Cats and Afterschool, Network do seem to be developing quite a nose for quality acquisitions. This being the case, it is a pity their exhibition access, P&A spread, BD policy and adherence to DVD release dates have yet to rival Palisades, Eureka or Artificial Eye.

[Awesome Welles]

Along with Persian Cats and Afterschool, Network do seem to be developing quite a nose for quality acquisitions. This being the case, it is a pity their exhibition access, P&A spread, BD policy and adherence to DVD release dates have yet to rival Palisades, Eureka or Artificial Eye.

Network are relatively small and still new at all of those things but thankfully they do seem to acquiring some good films, if only they could deliver them on time. I've had my eye on Soy Cowboy since it's small theatrical release.

[Nothing]

Just received my promotional copy, so this should be shipping shortly. Moviemail says April 26th. It's a decent transfer, at first glance. The encode struggles a little with the intense film grain, but I can't imagine it looking much better this side of Blu-Ray.

[Oedipax]

Great news. Amazon UK has charged my card and the order is now listed as in process, so it looks like this one is indeed on the way. Glad to hear the transfer's good by DVD standards.

[Oedipax]

I finally got around to watching this tonight - I waited until I felt I was absolutely in the mood for something I gathered would be extremely challenging to sit through, though not without some reward. In retrospect, I had nothing to worry about; I loved the film and the reports of its 'difficulty' are rather overblown in my estimation. The first half (really more like 3/4) is funny and sad all at once, showing the complicated relationship of Toby and Koi in stark terms that still leave room for aspects of genuine affection to co-exist with the more obvious economic exploitation.

When the film makes its Apichatpongian shift in the last half, I felt the film became somewhat less compelling but this is a common reaction anytime characters you've grown to know are abruptly abandoned. I suspect repeat viewings will help clear up the second half, and how both parts function in relation to one another. I do think Clay is more adept as a filmmaker in the first half, with carefully composed framings, long takes, natural light, and lovely naturalistic performances from both leads. The ending, an apparent homage to Lynch, isn't completely successful in its appropriation of Lynchian tropes but I suppose it's as good a way as any to end the film.

About the transfer, I thought it was terrific, one of the best SD transfers I've seen in a while, especially considering the delicacy of the film's images. This is one of the few films that really shows darkness successfully - on more than one occasion I was delighted by the way the screen at first appears to go completely black when Toby turns out a bedside lamp, only to discover extremely subtle detail in the deep shadows a moment later. It does this without ever appearing overly noisy or murky on DVD, which is quite impressive. When the film shifts to color, even though it's still very naturalistic, the simple combination of greenery and bright red and blue shirts on the two new protagonists is very effective, almost psychedelic coming after an hour plus of black and white.

I really am deeply impressed with what Clay has done here. I more or less detested The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael when I saw it, but it was clear that Clay was someone worth paying attention to for his virtuoso direction of that dreadful film. This, on the other hand, I can happily embrace without reservations.

[John Cope]

It really is a masterful film though I like Robert Carmichael just as much. Pity the disc doesn't feature more comprehensive extras.

I agree that the first part (first two-thirds as you correctly identify it) is more compelling and engaging though that's easy for me to say as someone who responds to that kind of filmmaking. Still, it's remarkably well sustained and as far as I'm concerned is primarily about an accrual of detail both in mise-en-scene and sound mix that builds a steady, subliminal sense of foreboding and looming threat which, of course, the last part "pays off". I appreciate that this initial section never allows that underlying tension to be fully realized or explicitly developed as it was in the similarly pitched 29 Palms, though once again I like that as well. The last section is also handled with marvelous dexterity, especially in respect to just how the violence is presented (and I'm sure you know what I mean here, Oedipax). The final scene you alluded to seems utterly key to me and is therefore not any arbitrary homage but a quite purposeful and careful realignment of representation in order to convey a further deepening of meaning. It did, however, take me a day or two to come to grips with what it was doing.