Le Film

“Do you know the difference between love and obsession? And what’s the difference between obsession and desire?” 

Żuławski’s English-language debut of a 1981 horror film is an inside look at the pitfalls of marriage and divorce. A star-making turn from Isabelle Adjani is a jaw-dropping audacious performance that will be forever ingrained in your memory. 

Where to watch:

Unfortunately, this film is not available to stream online.

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

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Shell-shocked by the images and sounds that followed you home into the night, you open your front door and are greeted by the gentle moonlight pouring into your window. You call out, but there is no response. Eyeing the surroundings, the curtains dance with the brisk night air, but then you wonder – did someone leave the window open? 

As you walk to the sliding glass door, the faint sounds of sprinklers coating the field behind your home is a welcome escape from the sirens, shrieks, and terror that has recently flipped your world upside down. Yet, you stop just before reaching the door as a pit forms at the bottom of your stomach – why is the door open, and why is no one home?

Lynne Ramsay’s 2011 psychological drama, We Need to Talk About Kevin, is composed of a myriad of memories and trauma that spells disaster for those caught within it. Shocking yet serene imagery backed by a sublime score, this film places the viewer in a front row seat to the unveiling of generational trauma on-screen. Filled with ambivalence and difficult discussions surrounding nature versus nurture, this story is best experienced when diving headfirst into the dark pools of its subject matter.

With special thanks to a recurring guest and friend of the show, who also happened to pick the movie for this episode, Ashley Briglia. As always, we thank you all for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Hulu (Stream in the US)

YouTube (Rent or Buy)

Amazon (Rent or Buy)

iTunes (Rent or Buy) 

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

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2:50 Catching up on films and television (Sopranos, Ted Lasso, Rick & Morty, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Back to the Future)

4:08 Jumping on the bandwagon and filling the void with Mr. Robot

5:15 Refusing to finish Breaking Bad

8:18 Going back to the beginning to finish what you started (Mr. Robot)

10:19 The build up to the finale of the Sopranos

11:39 Watching Ted Lasso and the animated series Spawn, Youtube Channel Dead Meat

15:03 Rewatching favorite films such as School of Rock, Almost Famous, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Little Miss Sunshine, The Goonies, St. Elmo’s Fire, We Need to Talk About Kevin

16:45 School of Rock and its influence on personal music and fashion choices

18:10 The cathartic nature of watching Eternal Sunshine

18:50 Rewatchable comedies such as Tenacious D, Old School, Anchorman

19:25 Not being a huge fan of Will Ferrell as a leading actor

21:30 Finally watching and recommending Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

22:30 Favorite part about living in Los Angeles and the coronavirus craze

24:24 Ye ho-geun Anio (yes or no): Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Morpheus in Matrix Resurrections, George Miller casting Anya Taylor-Joy in a Mad Max prequel, Andrew Garfield & Tobey Maguire potentially appearing in Spider-man: No Way Home

35:50 Denis Villeneuve’s stance on marvel films

39:30 Excitement for Denis Villeneuve’s Dune

41:02 Lynne Ramsey’s We Need to Talk About Kevin Review

1:15:04 Ratings

1:21:44 We Need to Talk About Kevin Spoilers Discussion

November 22nd, 1963 – Dallas, TX: It had rained that morning, and by afternoon the sun had made its way out from behind the clouds. At approximately 12:29pm, President John F. Kennedy’s motorcade entered Dealey Square and rounded the corner onto Houston Street. Within the next 60 seconds, the following course of events would forever alter the history of the United States.

Pablo Larraín’s 2016 biographical drama, Jackie, highlights the events leading up to, surrounding, and proceeding that fateful day. Whereas most recounts focus on John F. Kennedy and his short term as president, this film chooses to focus on a figure whose presence has often been overshadowed and overlooked, Jackie Kennedy.

A claustrophobic and deeply intimate portrait on grief and trauma, Jackie serves to not only recount the tragedy that surrounded Jackie, the Kennedy family, and the nation at the time, but to reflect on legacy, the weaving of history, and the will to live. 

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Vudu (Rent or Buy)

Amazon Prime (Rent or Buy)

YouTube (Rent or Buy)

iTunes (Rent or Buy) 

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

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2:16 The poignancy of the release of Pablo Larraín’s Jackie (2016) that is the amalgamation of the mental hurdles and trauma that still exist in present-day America 

5:00 An appreciation for Jackie on repeat viewing and the refusal to glorify Jackie Kennedy’s grief as opposed to the biographical glorification we’re used to seeing in Hollywood & the Academy Awards

10:20 The Salem Witch Hunt in Texas and the repercussions of the ban on abortion rights

15:00 Natalie Portman’s tour de force performance as Jackie potentially being her best yet

19:32 Viewing the truth from an alternate perspective and the recreation of the events through found footage

21:45 The significance in balancing truth and fantasy, and pathos and catharsis

26:15 The poignancy of depicting the Kennedy family and America’s ugly past

30:54 Mica Levi’s haunting score

32:00 Natalie Portman’s performance in a performance 

37:33 Jackie’s duty to display an unsightly truth

42:18 Was Jacqueline Kennedy right or wrong in the way she handled John F. Kennedy’s death in the eye of the public and the media?

48:22 America’s withdrawal in Afghanistan and the drone strikes in Kubal killing a family of 10

54:30 Jackie as a film about the death of the American Dream, living in a nihilistic world, and embracing life because death is certain

1:02:12 The drone strikes in Afghanistan and its similarities to the chemical bombings in the Vietnam War

1:04:01 Rating Jackie

1:14:57 Jackie Spoiler Discussion

In this episode, Pat, Richard, and Kevin (absent Tyler) talk about whatever comes to mind. We test out a more flexible audio setup with the hope of having more guests on future episodes, so if you would like to be on one, feel free to reach out to us! We appreciate all of you out there, and hope that all is well.

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion. 

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@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

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In the lush countryside of Japanese-occupied Korea in the 1930’s, an heiress to a large fortune stares outside the misty window wondering if there is anything more to life than what she currently knows. Housed by her overbearing uncle and bound to the confines of the luxurious estate since childhood, the structure mimics that of her fractured identity: forever split between the lineage of Korea and Japan.

Park Chan-wook’s 2016 erotic psychological thriller, The Handmaiden, weaves together a labyrinthian narrative whose subversions leave the viewer guessing at every turn. A meditation on exploitation, manipulation, and objectification found throughout history, characters are left to decide whether or not they wish to remain in the patriarchal structure that has imprisoned them for as long back as they can remember.

Filled with immaculate imagery and a stirring soundscape to match, this movie delves beyond the illusory superficial layers of its own making to construct a tender and poetic center at the heart of it all.

Special thanks to Adan “Ardough” Franco for joining us for this episode and for recommending this movie to us. As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion. 

Where to watch:

Amazon Prime (Stream)

Vudu (Rent)

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

[email protected]

2:09 Weekly Updates - David Lynch’s Twin Peaks: The Return (2017) paving the way for cinematic television

8:29 Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992)

10:16 Completing Sam Esmail’s Mr. Robot (2015)

16:08 Guilty pleasure in watching a show like Greg Berlanti & Sera Gamble’s You (2018) 

18:02 Anticipation in watching the newly released Neon Genesis 3.0 + 1.0 Thrice Upon a Time by Hideako Anno

19:26 Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans (2015) and The 08th MS Team (1996)

22:41 Showtime’s Billions (2016)

25:08 Shoot ‘Em Up (2007) & Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

27:22 What show ended the best? What show should have never ended?

27:59 Mr. Robot & Sopranos having the best endings, The Wire, Berserk, Monster, Star Trek The Next Generation, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Chappelle's Show, The OA

49:04 Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden Review

53:18 Appreciating Park Chan-wook’s filmography

1:00:00 The Handmaiden as an amalgamation of genres while being a significant part of queer cinema

1:11:57 Ratings

1:31:51 The Handmaiden Spoiler Review

The bustling sounds of Vienna are soon drowned out by the lonely buzzing of streetlights, whose glow casts an uncanny warmth that wraps around figures coming and going into the night. “Another day, come and gone already,” a local prostitute mutters beneath their breath as they exhale a stream of smoke, whose wisps chase after passing cars of would-be clients. “Just a few more months, that’s all”. The screeching of brakes and illumination of red tail lights, the lone worker stamps out their cigarette and approaches the car. “Just a few more months, a few more months…”

In the words of Arthur Schopenhauer, hatred is an affair of the heart; contempt that of the head. These words not only ring true, but they become immersed in the dark murky waters of Götz Spielmann’s 2008 Austrian thriller, Revanche. With steady unflinching imagery and a minimal yet pensive soundscape, Revanche captures a unique and bittersweet take on the timeless act of revenge, while posing an alternative solution to the darker impulses of the heart.

Grief, shame, regret - all familiar yet almost indistinguishable when experienced in tandem. Through mundanity, we are exposed to the parts of ourselves that we hide away from in the hustle and bustle of day to day living; yet, it also provides the greatest opportunity for growth. Whether one is seeking justice, forgiveness, acceptance, or perhaps even redemption, Revanche posits that it is important to recognize that all of these wants are not the end-all be-all solutions to the grief we experience throughout life, but rather the byproducts of inner work and self discovery.

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Criterion Channel (Stream)

HBO Max (Stream)

Amazon (Rent or Buy)

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

[email protected]

01:18 Life Updates, Additional Content Coming Soon

06:09 Sopranos Update

08:04 Do Films Lose their Replay Value Based on the Twist?

12:00 Evangelion Rebuilds Coming to Amazon Prime

12:28 The Green Knight Release

19:38 Video Game Updates: God of War, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Hollow Knight

20:11 Twin Peaks Rewatch

20:39 Skipping Episodes to get to the Finale

22:33 M. Night Shyamalan’s Old and an Appreciation for his Filmography

28:46 Mr. Robot Updates

30:58 Götz Spielmann’s Revanche (2008) Review

52:09 Revanche Spoilers

We arrive on a dilapidated space station orbiting the planet of Solaris after a lengthy trip aboard a cramped and humid shuttle. All we know about the planet is that it resembles an infinite sea, and that the station has reported multiple sightings of “guests” that the planet is somehow able to manifest. Is the planet attempting to communicate with the cosmonauts on the station, or is it simply observing the scientists while they observe it?

Solaris, Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1972 outing into the science fiction genre, attempts to answer the question of whether or not morality is tied to knowledge and, in this case especially, scientific progress. In humanity’s quest for unadulterated Truth, is there no limit, restriction, or condition that should be put in place to safeguard itself, amongst others, against possible repercussions that can be triggered at the slightest misstep?

With dazzling and dreamlike imagery, bittersweet hymns of nostalgia, and a resounding call to action for transcending the shackles of mortality through spirituality, Solaris stands as one cinema’s greatest explorations of morality and humankind’s place in the cosmos. 

“We don’t want to conquer space at all. We want to expand Earth endlessly. We don’t want other worlds; we want a mirror. We seek contact and will never achieve it. We are in the foolish position of a man striving for a goal he fears and doesn’t want. Man needs man!”

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Criterion Channel (Stream)

Vudu (Rent or Buy)

YouTube (Rent or Buy)

Amazon (Rent or Buy)

iTunes (Rent or Buy)

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

[email protected]

01:06 Return to the Movie Theaters: Spiral: From the Book of Saw, Army of the Dead

01:50 The Phase of Torture Films: Human Centipede, Hostel, The Hills Have Eyes, Wrong Turn

04:08 Netflix’s Santa Clarita Diet

04:53 Pelin Esmer’s Something Useful 

06:19 Sopranos

09:50 Pulp Fiction, Favorite Tarantino Film

11:57 Attack on Titan Season 3

12:30 Game of Thrones

13:13 Annoying TV/Film Tropes

15:36 AoT English Dub is Good!

19:07 Sopranos Transcending the Mobster/Crime Genre

22:45 Solaris (1972) Review

34:38 Vadim Yusov’s Significance as Cinematographer 

38:20 Science-fiction Viewed as a “Safe” Genre to Explore

55:25 Solaris Spoilers - Andrei Tarkovsky on Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey

1:05:02 Elliptical Storytelling

1:08:20 Anatoliy Solonitsyn 

1:54:08-1:55:42 Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket Spoilers 

1:56:07-1:56:35 Elem Klimov’s Come and See Spoilers

1:56:56 Morality Tied to Knowledge

2:05:21 Inner Totems of Self Actualization: Berserk, Neon Genesis: Evangelion, Solaris, Star Trek the Next Generation, Monster, Eternal Sunshine, The Before Trilogy

Yukio Mishima, a renowned Japanese author whose talents and beliefs stretched far beyond the confines of pen and paper, explored and attempted to transcend what each of us at some point entertains: the limitations of the human experience. How? By ingesting, deconstructing, and reassembling the narrative of his life to create a multilayered and unwavering testament to living and dying as a work of art.

In Paul Schrader’s 1985 biopic, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, the director attempts to capture on screen the many masks, personas, and realities of this controversial figure by revisiting and adapting the pivotal moments that led to Mishima’s infamous final performance. With each layer of reality being vastly different from the next, the viewer is given one piece after another to form a unique and ever-shifting portrait of a human whose obsession with death drove them to encase their life in amber by becoming a sentient work of art.

What role does art play in the history of civilizations? When names are erased and bones are turned to dust, what is left to remember, if anything at all? Symbols, messages, ideas… art as a means of preservation and hedge against the bet; a trump card whose only aim is to test the hand of the dealer whose name is Death.

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Criterion Channel (Stream)

Amazon (Rent or Buy)

iTunes (Rent or Buy)

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

[email protected]

01:18 The Dark Story Behind Air Bud

02:08 Biopics: Che (2008), Mesrine (2008), Steve Jobs, Jackie (2016)

05:30 Chernobyl 

06:23 Band of Brothers

07:22 Dolemite is My Name

08:54 Molly’s Game

09:43 Mank

10:49 Alexander the Great with Orlando Bloom, Troy

11:12 Glory with Matthew Broderick & Denzel Washington

12:01 Roman Polanski’s The Pianist

15:30 Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters dir. Paul Schrader Review

36:08 Mishima Spoilers

38:30 Mishima as Mandatory Viewing in Japanese History

40:40 David Cronenberg’s OCAD University Speech

Argentina, South America - amidst the sprawling cityscapes and desolate stretches of open land, one theme connects six different tales in Damián Szifron’s anthology film, Wild Tales, and the theme in question is vengeance.

Filled with subversion, subterfuge, and sinister acts of passion, this film sets out from the very get go with one objective in mind: to encapsulate what drives a person to commit heinous acts of revenge against the offender at large, no matter how trivial, maddening, or downright deserving of it they may be.

Darkly comical and electrifying in both tone and atmosphere, this film is anything but predictable. Strap in and experience the ride of a lifetime as we discuss this absolute gem from one of South America’s most refreshing filmmakers.

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Amazon (Rent or Buy)

YouTube (Rent or Buy)

Vudu (Rent or Buy)

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

[email protected]

01:03 The Oscars / Trial of Chicago 7 

06:19 Mortal Kombat

07:12 Street Fighter / Jean-Claude Van Damme

11:00 Do Film Trailers Give Too Much Away?

16:25 Favorite Mortal Kombat Characters

18:00 The Disrespect of Sir Anthony Hopkins

23:30 American Remake of Another Round

26:25 Historical Biopic Films for the Oscars

27:26 Daniel Kaluuya’s Awkward Interview

30:03 Wild Tales Review

47:59 Question From a Listener: Will There Be a Snyder Cut Discussion?

49:50 Mega 64 Podcast

50:55 Superhero Movies / The Boys

1:09:09 Wild Tales Spoilers

1:21:28 Favorite Revenge Themed Films / Oldboy

1:22:00 Bad Remakes

1:45:40 Favorite Video Games / Fighting Games

1:46:30 After Dark / Multiplayer Ruins Campaign Gaming

The sun is setting in Columbus, Indiana while a renowned architect remains comatose in a local hospital. His estranged son from South Korea, Jin, comes to visit and soon meets a kindred spirit, Casey, whose passion for architecture creates a safe haven for Jin to reexamine his fractured and turbulent relationship with his father, while also providing Casey with a newfound outlet to explore the possibility of life outside of Columbus.

Kogonada’s 2017 directorial debut not only serves as a love-letter to architecture, but to the ties that we establish and familiarize ourselves with the landmarks, features, and connections that are found within any community. The most important part about these features is not the existence of them, but the room they create for memories, experiences, and a momentary sense of shared existence.

As always, thank you for listening and we hope you enjoy the discussion.

Where to watch:

Amazon (Rent or Buy)

YouTube (Rent or Buy)

Kanopy (Select libraries)

Instagram:

@lefilmpodcast

Twitter:

@lefilmpod

Send us questions, feedback, and film recommendations at:

[email protected]

01:35 The Boys Season 2

02:54 Patrick’s Film Day Challenge

03:27 Hiroshima Mon Amour, Woman in the Dunes

03:40 Pedro Aldomovar’s All About My Mother, The Human Condition

03:56 A Short Film About Love

04:13 Evan’s Childhood, Streetwise

04:45 “Sacramento sucks”

05:42 HBO’s Barry

12:39 Attack on Titan

15:12 Evangelion, Hunter Hunter, Yu Yu Hakusho

16:13 Toonami

17:08 Tik Tok

18:40 Columbus Review

46:28 Columbus Spoilers

1:11:05 Pros & Cons of Pure Auteurship

1:16:05 Quentin Tarantino & Sally Menke