October 12th 2012. Pick Of The Day.

British heartbreak is oh so mannered, oh so cruel, and oh so bloody inconvenient, and my Pick Of The Day may just be the final word on that Trifecta of English romance personified. On a day that features the kick-off of a week long run of THE CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON at Film Forum, in glorious 3D no less, a restored print of Jacques Demy's LOLA at MOMA complete with the resplendent Anouk Aimee herself in attendance, MOMI's Kenji Misumi series' unspooling of THE SWORD, and the Rubin Museum's buy-a-drink-take-the-ride screening of mini-auteur Bob Rafelson's seminal FIVE EASY PIECES, which merely made a counterculture household name of one Jack Nicholson, I choose a different path entirely. Although that FIVE EASY PIECES screening with a boozed crowd tempts.

Handpicked by Noel Coward to co-direct the WWII propaganda flick IN WHICH WE SERVE, David Lean abandoned his gig as editor-in-demand and began a journey that would soon cement his status as one of the world's foremost filmmakers. He forged a close bond with Coward, adapting post-war the playwright's THIS HAPPY BREED and BLITHE SPIRIT. His third effort at bringing Coward's words to the big screen would amount to his first indelible classic, a first imposing of Lean's style as director over Coward's as scribe, and a staple of cinematic romance tragic that the CEO of Kleenex continues to thank with hands clasped to this day.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER concerns an accidental meeting between two souls dangling by their own disillusions, finding spark between them and potential redemption for quiet lives of desperation. Questions of fulfillment and loyalty clash, with terribly proper accents. Seriously, this is a tear-jerker with brains and heart, Trevor Howard was never better and the quiet reserve of Celia Johnson will only make you wish she'd made more films. This was the first true watermark of Lean as auteur, and the results would only get better. The luminous nighttime imagery is provided by THIRD MAN DP Robert Krasker, and a bloke named Ronald Neame, who would soon go on to his own career laden with gifts of varying worth, co-wrote and produced. The final product is the sell, though, and if you can at all empathize with regret for the road not taken, this may be the ultimate cathartic experience for you.

BRIEF ENCOUNTER screens all day today at Film Forum and does so for the next 7 days. Check the calendar for the exacts. Join the Facebook group. Send me an e-mail. Be patient as I get my Twitter act together. This gig ain't easy, y'know. Have a great Friday and hope your Cinegeek needs find some satisfaction today! Excelsior!