4xblu received a shipment from England’s Eureka Entertainment today, with four of the five titles included coming from Eureka’s Masters of Cinema line. The arrivals consisted of Sam Fuller’s “White Dog,” Andre de Toth’s “Day of the Outlaw,” Pier Paolo Pasolini’s “The Gospel According to Matthew,” Sion Sono’s “Guilty of Romance,” and “Computer Chess” by Andrew Bujalski.
Prior to directing “Computer Chess,” Andrew Bujalski made a name for himself with “Funny Ha Ha” and “Mutual Appreciation,” among the most highly-regarded works of what would be called “mumblecore” — a cluster of low budget American independent films made during the early 2000s that tended more toward dialogue and character development than action and production values. After a third picture, “Beeswax,” Bujalski set out to make “Computer Chess,” a film that was far more radical than his previous work.
Set during an early 80s gathering of computer programmers who’ve come to test their inventions’ artificial intelligence by competing in a chess tournament, “Computer Chess” — which was shot with black and white Sony video cameras dating back to the era depicted in the film — is a comedy that alternates between feeling like surveillence footage, a fly-on-the-wall documentary, and something altogether different that is better experienced than explained.