Cultural Capital

The "No spoilers...but also 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' is our Film of 2019" edition.

As we slouch toward the end of the decade, beset by forces of oppression, we seek respite with the March family, in Greta Gerwig's version of 19th century Massachusetts. We also speak to Gillian Armstrong about directing the 1994 adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel, and hear her thoughts on Gerwig's. Andy interviewed her at the Marrakech International Film Festival and would like to apologise for for the Moroccan music playing throughout the interview. We also count down our Top 3 films of 2019, and thank you very much for listening.

Find us: @ TheCultCapPod and Cultural Capital Podcast

The "does this remind anyone else of Twin Peaks Season 3?" edition.

As we barrel toward the end of the decade, much hyped films by proficient directors arrive demanding attention. This month we'll take on two of them, Rian Johnson's 'Knives Out', and Martin Scorsese's 'The Irishman'. We also open the Cultural Capital Film Diary and tackle one the most entertaining of sub-genres when we count down our Top 3 whodunnits. Solve the mystery of why you're not already listening and hit PLAY.

00:54 Knives Out

15:48 The Irishman

33:04 Cultural Capital Film Diary

35:16 Top 3 Whodunnits

Find us: @ TheCultCapPod and Cultural Capital Podcast.

During our discussion of 'The Irishman' Andy mentioned Bill Tonelli's article 'The Lies of the Irishman'. You can find that here: https://slate.com/culture/2019/08/the-irishman-scorsese-netflix-movie-true-story-lies.html

The "Like Kenneth Branagh and Laurence Olivier, Julia Stiles owes her career to Shakespeare" edition.

With the theatrical release of David Michod's 'The King', starring Timotheé Chalamet and Robert Pattinson, and its imminent arrival on Netflix, your valiant hosts volunteer to review it. We also consider the vibrant true crime tale of sisters doing it for themselves, Lorene Scafaria's 'Hustlers', and share our top three spins on Shakespeare. And for this, we in it shall be remembered — We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...

00:50 - The King

15:30 - Cultural Capital Film Diary

18:05 - Hustlers

35:35 - Top 3 spins on Shakespeare

Find Us: @ TheCultCapPod and Cultural Capital Podcast

Also check out: The excellent documentary 'Happy Sad Man' is out this week. We reviewed it on episode 51 of Cultural Capital where we also interviewed its director Genevieve Bailey.

A man in a spaceship has been the set up for some of the most profound (2001: A Space Odyssey) and most ambitious (The Martian)scenes in cinema, so when James Gray's announced that he was sending Brad Pitt to Neptune to reunite with his father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, Cultural Capital were all ears. We also take a look at the Australian film 'Buoyancy', a thriller set on a fishing boat off the coast of Thailand, and share our Top 3 rescue missions in film. You're welcome.

The "Brad Pitt feels sad about many things / Clueless is a Christmas movie" edition.

00:53 Ad Astra

18:50 Cultural Capital Film Diary

21:01 Buoyancy

29:54 Top 3 rescue missions in film

Find Us: @ TheCultCapPod and Cultural Capital Podcast

The "if you Google 'Animals' you don't get the film" edition.

With memories of MIFF already beginning to blur into a prismatic fog of scenes, sounds and ads about texting while driving, Cultural Capital wrest the cinematic jewels from the jaws of amnesia. Some, like The Farewell and Animals, are on the verge of general release, others we may never see again. All of this, the Cultural Capital Film Diary, and one of the most chat-worthy films of 2019, Quentin Tarantino's 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'...

00:49 - Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (SPOILER WARNING)

26:27 - Cultural Capital Film Diary

30:08 - Animals

34:08 - Monrovia, Indiana, Penelope Spheeris's 'Dudes' and Long Day's Journey Into Night

41:56 - The Farewell, Beats and Carmine Street Guitars

Find Us: @ TheCultCapPod and Cultural Capital Podcast

The “We’ll add ten per cent onto the price so we can give a ten per cent discount to members” edition.

Before MIFF-fatigue sets in, before the endings get spoiled and while the weather is still wintry, join us in the midst of the bustle of the Capitol Salon, for a rundown of some of the most enthused-about films in the Melbourne International Film Festival…

02:45 - The Lodge [SPOILER WARNING - we do discuss this particular ending, for good reason]

15:05 - End of the Century

21:14 - The Wild Goose Lake

25:22 - Your Face

29:52 - The Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains

33:36 - And Then We Danced

38:07 - Sequin in a Blue Room

40:53 - Happy New Year, Colin Burstead

Find Us: @ TheCultCapPod and Cultural Capital Podcast

The "gobbling up 50 cent VHSes from Vinnys" edition.

For this episode we turn our microphones towards this years MIFF Critics Campus - participants in an intensive five-day lab which involves watching films, receiving mentorship from national and international figures in film criticism and writing reviews and essays for the MIFF website. The talk takes in discovering film criticism, the value of film websites like Letterboxd and the how to develop a distinctive voice in a world where everyone’s a critic.

Today – and possibly well into the future if last year’s Campus is anything to go by (hello Rough Cut) – the critics are Zoë Almeida Goodall, Zach Karpinellison, Luke McCarthy, Jamie Tran, Claire Cao, Olivia Bennett, Isabella Trimboli and Michael Sun.

Find us: @TheCultCapPod

The “I am Persephone of Melbourne Emporium etc” edition

Cultural Capital return for our second voyage into MIFF 2019. We wrestle with Jennifer Kent’s ‘The Nightingale’, puzzle over ‘Bacurau’ before Anders enthuses about ‘Matthais et Maxime’, Andy falls for ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ and Eloise is enraptured by ‘The Trial’.

The "Does Anders looks like Quentin Tarantino crossed with Vincent D'Onofrio? Well, does he?" Edition

One the eve of MIFF 2019 your hosts take a close look at two of the most intriguing titles in the sprawling program, the Cannes prize-winning Russian drama Beanpole, and Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang's acclaimed documentary One Child Nation. All of this and a flip through the Cultural Capital Film Diary.

Find us: Cultural Capital Podcast and @TheCultCapPod

The "crying in The Joy Luck Club" edition.

Anders, Eloise and Andy feed the MIFF 2019 program into the CultCapometer and come out with podcasting gold. This episode contains all the recommendations and insights you need to navigate through this year's record-breakingly vast festival program. From the opening night inspiration of Daniel Gordon's Adam Goodes documentary The Australian Dream, via the Jeff Goldblum-athon and the focuses on Peter Strickland, Penelope Spheeris and Agnieszka Holland, to the sure-fire crowd-pleasing thrills of closing night comedy, Lulu Wang's 'The Farewell'. It's all here, with irreverent asides and industry gossip Andy forgot to edit out due to sleep deprivation.

Find us: @TheCultCapPod