Samaritan Girl (Tartan)

2004, Rated R

South Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk's best-known film in America is his tranquil monk drama Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter ´ and Spring. But fans of his earlier films know that Kim is a master artist when it comes to rich and substantial depictions of brutality. In Samaritan Girl, a film that delivers on Kim's artistically daring promise, two teenage girls, Yeo-Jin (Ji-min Kwak) and Jae-young (Min-jeong Seo), start a prostitution business to raise money for a trip to Europe. Yeo-Jin is the manager; Jae-young tends to the clients. After a tragic accident, Yeo-Jin steps forward to pleasure clients as an act of contrition. Samaritan Girl's unsettling sex and violence verges on pulp, but there is no denying its powerful themes of redemption and forgiveness. Like all of Kim's films (his film 3-Iron is currently playing U.S. theaters, and he is at Cannes this year with his latest film, The Bow), Samaritan Girl has minimal dialogue. In place of words, Kim emphasizes visual metaphors, an essential element for his symbolic storytelling. Few filmmakers are more prolific than Kim. More importantly, he continues to deliver on the promise witnessed in his 1996 debut, Crocodile. (Steve Ramos) Grade: A

Cheers: The Complete Fifth Season (Paramount)

Cheers: The Complete Fifth Season (Paramount)

1986, Unrated

Nostalgia is now being measured in nanoseconds in the home entertainment divisions of our multinational media conglomerates. Decades are replacing the century as the definition of a significant temporal demarcation. But every once in a great while, a cultural touchstone emerges that validates the urgent need to look back fondly. For television comedies, Cheers is among the standard bearers. Season Five marks the final run for series regular Shelley Long, so as the great on-again/off-again affair between Sam (Ted Danson) and Diane (Long) concludes, love rears its ugly head for practically every other member of the Cheers gang -- even postman Cliff (John Ratzenberger), who gets bitten by a dog and ends up falling for the owner. All 26 episodes sparkle and coast along effortlessly, despite the fact that behind the scenes much was made of the tension between Long and the rest of the cast. In fact, it could be that animosity that gave the sharp barbs a bit more sting. The four-disc set catches the crew nearing the halfway point in their march toward the television annals and focuses exclusively on the shows. There's not a single extra feature to distract fans from settling in and enjoying this special place "where everybody knows your name." (tt clinkscales) Grade: A

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle

The Great Rock 'n' Roll Swindle (SHOUT!)

1979, Unrated

There's nothing sadder than a filmmaker of promise who fails to deliver on early success. Julien Temple, a member of the British Next Wave circa 1979, showed style and well-placed irreverence in The Great Rock ´n´ Roll Swindle, a faux documentary about The Sex Pistols and their uproarious two years of existence. The Pistols, looking more like unruly teenagers than the world's most notorious band, act up accordingly on the Jubilee boat trip, their well-publicized concert on the Thames. John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten) shows true star quality with his tussled red hair. Sid Vicious, clad only in thong underwear, makes perfect use of his vacant stare lip-synching the Rockabilly song, "Somethin' Else," to his girlfriend Nancy Spungen. But the standout number of the film's 17 Pistols performances is Vicious' raunchy rendition of Frank Sinatra's "My Way," dressed in a lounge lizard jacket and dress trousers. The film's best performance belongs to Pistol's manager Malcolm McLaren -- the Pistols' story is told from his perspective -- a creative con-artist clown willing to do anything to put money in his pocket. Temple, who does a good job explaining the rise and fall of the Pistols in a bonus interview, would revisit the Pistols 20 years later with his straightforward documentary, The Filth and the Fury. But nothing matches the clownish attitude, sneering dialogue and chaotic spirit of The Great Rock ´n´ Roll Swindle. (SR) Grade: B

Mike Yokohama: A Forest With No Name (Facets)

Mike Yokohama: A Forest With No Name (Facets)

2002, Unrated

An installment of a Japanese TV series based on Kaizo Hayashi's detective films from the mid-'90s, Shinji Aoyama directed Forest, which was the pilot for the series. Equal parts Jim Rockford and Mike Hammer, Mike Yokohama wanders a dreamscape that marries David Lynchian atmospherics to an existential narrative straight out of the imagination of writer Paul Auster. This absurd concoction makes Japanese television seem like the perfect antidote to the viral assault of situation comedies and the reality genre that has afflicted the Nielsen families here in the U.S. When a businessman hires Yokohama to bring his daughter back from a self-discovery retreat center, the resulting journey quickly branches off onto multiple paths and meanders along at its own pace. Stylistically, there are so many elements at work that it's a wonder Forest doesn't collapse under its own weight. But Masatoshi Nagase as Yokohama creates a character that's equally at odds and uniquely suited to the disparate cultural influences brewing. The only deficiency with the DVD is the complete lack of extras. Commentary on the direction of this series would likely be as entertaining as the episodes themselves. (ttc) Grade: B+