Her Head in Films

By Caitlin

A podcast that makes movies personal. Hosted by Caitlin, Her Head in Films blends heartfelt reflections on art house and world cinema with stories from my own life. This is a space for exploring the e... more

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How many episodes does Her Head in Films have?

The podcast currently has 154 episodes available.

Her Head in Films episodes:

December 10, 2017Elem Klimov's 'Come and See' (1985)
In this episode, I talk about Elem Klimov's monumental 1985 Soviet film, "Come and See," which follows a young man named Florya who witnesses atrocities and violence that happen in Nazi-occupied Belarus in 1943. The film is both personal and historical. Klimov himself experienced the Second World War as a child in Stalingrad. He was forever scarred by what he witnessed. Together with writer, Ales Adamovich, Klimov wrote the script for "Come and See" and based it on real-life testimonies. Over 600 villages were destroyed by the Nazis in Belarus during the Second World War. In the end, around 2 million people in Belarus lost their lives during the war. This film bears witness to their suffering and it's also a searing representation of the horror of war. Klimov resists glorifying violence. Instead, he shows us the sickening and frightening reality of what war is and what it does to human lives. While the film is graphic, it is also restrained, often only showing us things from afar, like a glimpse of a pile of dead bodies or the sounds of people burning in a building. I discuss how I think this is one of the most important films about war and atrocity ever made and how a film like this can awaken our sense of morality and truly transform the viewer.
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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
Full show notes:
Several quotes by Klimov are taken from this three-part interview
I also quote from Svetlana Alexievich's "The Unwomanly Face of War"
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1h 32min
December 03, 2017 Episode 43: Tasha Hubbard's 'Birth of a Family' (2016) and Kalina Bertin's 'Manic' (2016)
In this episode, I talk about two powerful documentaries from the Montreal International Documentary Festival. The first film is Tasha Hubbard's "Birth of a Family," which is about four siblings--Betty Ann, Ben, Esther, and Rosalie--who meet for the first time, 50 years after they were taken away from their mother, Mary Jane, during the Sixties Scoop in Canada. The Sixties Scoop was a program that took First Nations children and put them in foster care or with white families. "Birth of a Family" explores how the four siblings cope with the past and create a new future together.
The second film is Kalina Bertin's "Manic," a personal film that explores both the complicated life of Bertin's father and the struggles of her siblings, Felicia and Sean, who have manic depression. Bertin's film is a raw and unflinching look at mental illness and how the ghosts of the past haunt the present. Full show notes: https://simplecast.com/s/38e9cdd6
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1h 23min
November 19, 2017 Ettore Scola's 'A Special Day' (1977)
In this episode, I talk about Ettore Scola's 1977 film, "A Special Day," starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni in some of the most raw performances of their careers. The film takes place in 1938 on an important day when Hitler visits Mussolini in Rome. While much of the city attends parades and festivities to celebrate the meeting, two people remain in their apartments: Antonietta (Loren), a working class housewife who believes in fascist ideals; and Gabriele (Mastroianni), a former radio announcer, antifacscist, and gay man. On this day in 1938, Antonietta and Gabriele--two people from vastly different backgrounds, holding profoundly different political beliefs--will meet and find connection.
In this episode, I weave together a discussion of the film with my thoughts on the one-year anniversary of the election of Donald Trump, exploring how right-wing extremism and fascism have been on the rise here in the United States. "A Special Day" has much to show us about gender, sexuality, masculinity, political divisions, and human connection. It also has much to tell us not just about Italy in 1938 but the United States in 2017 and beyond.
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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
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1h 23min
November 12, 2017 Mathieu Amalric's 'Le Stade de Wimbledon' (2001)
Released in 2001, Le Stade de Wimbledon (The Wimbledon Stage) is French actor Mathieu Amalric's second feature film, and it stars his ex-wife, the brilliant Jeanne Balibar. It is based on the Italian novel, Lo stadio di Wimbledon by Daniele Del Giudice. In Trieste, Italy a woman searches for information about Bobby Volher, a writer who never wrote a book. She wants to know why someone with so much talent did not seek out publication. The film never really answers this question but that's not the point. The film wants to raise questions, it wants to meander and explore and investigate; it revels in the search itself and asks us to consider what we might discover along the way.
For me, this film is so beguiling because it's interested in the meaning and mystery of writing itself. Why do we write? For ourselves? For others? For fame and publication? And what do we make of writers who had little interest in being published, like Emily Dickinson? I explore all this and more in this episode.
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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
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1h 15min
November 05, 2017 Episode 40: Nicolas Roeg's 'Don't Look Now' (1973)
In this episode, I talk about Nicolas Roeg's 1973 psychological horror film, "Don't Look Now." It's about John and Laura Baxter, a British couple who have recently lost their young daughter, Christine, and are living in Venice, Italy when they meet two sisters, one of which is psychic and says she can see and communicate with Christine. The film is based on the Daphne du Maurier short story of the same name. I explore many things in this episode, including the horror of loss and the human longing to know what happens after a loved one dies. At the beginning of the episode, I also discuss the sexual assault and harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein and other men in Hollywood. I question if there will be institutional, systemic change. Full show notes: https://simplecast.com/s/c1b86c3d
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1h 26min
October 29, 2017 Herk Harvey's 'Carnival of Souls' (1962)
It's the most ghoulish time of the year now that Halloween is here. In this episode, I explore Herk Harvey's 1962 cult horror classic "Carnival of Souls." The film tells the story of Mary Henry, a church organist who survives a car crash and is menaced by a zombie-like man. What makes "Carnival of Souls" so powerful and unforgettable for me is its narrative ambiguity, its complex portrait of Mary, and its exploration of loneliness, alienation, disconnection, and trauma.
Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.
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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
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1h 8min
October 22, 2017 Agnieszka Holland's 'The Secret Garden' (1993)
In this episode, I talk about Agnieszka Holland's beloved 1993 children's film "The Secret Garden," which tells the story of Mary Lennox, a 10-year-old girl orphaned after her parents die in an earthquake in India. She is sent to England to live with her uncle, Lord Craven, and discovers a secret garden on his estate. I discuss not only the film itself and its themes of love, connection, friendship, and regeneration, but I also explore what it means to re-watch films from your childhood and how that can be both a valuable and emotional experience.
Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.
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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
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1h 5min
October 01, 2017 Episode 37: Maurice Pialat's 'The Mouth Agape' (1974)
In this episode, I talk about Maurice Pialat's "The Mouth Agape," a devastating film about a woman named Monique who is dying and how her son and husband deal with the situation. "The Mouth Agape" is a brutal examination of death, the decay of the body, and family dysfunction. Full show notes: https://simplecast.com/s/7e2ebba3
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53min
September 29, 2017 Lee Chang-dong's 'Poetry' (2010)
In this episode, I talk about Lee Chang-dong's devastating 2010 film "Poetry". It tells the story of 66-year-old Mija, who is struggling with her health and with the revelation that her grandson, Wook, is connected to the death of a young girl named Agnes. As all this is happening, Mija is also taking a poetry class and desperately wants to write a poem.
Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.
Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.
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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
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1h 18min
September 24, 2017 Andrea Arnold's 'Fish Tank' (2009)
In this episode, I talk about Andrea Arnold's 2009 film "Fish Tank." It's about 15-year-old Mia who lives on a housing estate in England with her mother and younger sister. Mia has a passion for dance and spends a lot of time alone choreographing dance routines. The film explores issues like poverty, the mother-daughter relationship, and desire. Andrea Arnold is one of my favorite directors, and I think "Fish Tank" is her best. I also think "Fish Tank" is one of the best films of the century so far because it centralizes a teenage girl's subjectivity and shows the damaging effects of capitalism and inequality on people's lives.
Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.
Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.
Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr.
Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan
...more
1h 28min

FAQs about Her Head in Films:

How many episodes does Her Head in Films have?

The podcast currently has 154 episodes available.

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