Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host Nicolas Rapold. On this episode I’m tackling a wonderful collection of new films by director Steve McQueen called Small Axe. The five Small Axe movies are on Amazon, completed today with the release of the fifth and final film, Education. Small Axe is a fascinating and ambitious chronicle of West Indian experience in London—personal, political, and cultural—and it’s definitely an event. First, veteran critic Jonathan Romney (Screen Daily, Sight & Sound) joins me to talk about Mangrove and Lovers Rock, which are about an infamous trial and a joyous night of partying, respectively. Then on the second half of the podcast, I’m joined by critic Nicholas Russell (Reverse Shot). We discuss McQueen’s approach in the three remaining films in the Small Axe series: Red, White, and Blue; Education; and Alex Wheatle. We also hear about the other last things Jonathan saw, from IDFA and elsewhere: The Wasteland, Inside the Red Brick Wall, Gorbachev. Heaven, and Fellini’s The Voice of the Moon.

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Photo by Steve Snodgrass