The Cinephiliacs

Much of the fun of a festival like the New York Film Festival is experiencing the works of major auteurs from the front lines, but it's also about finding something small, unique, and truly exciting. For this second podcast report from the preeminent Manhattan film festival, Boston film critic Monica Castillo tracks her way down to coast to join Peter for another week through the festival, including the US premiere of the latest film from the Coen brothers, Inside Llewyn Davis. But beyond mellow 60s folk rock, there's surrealism in Taipei with the latest of Tsai Ming-Liang, melancholic love with Philipe Garrel, and another comedic head-scratcher from Romania. All this and more as NYFF continues its 51st run.

0:00-1:54 Opening
3:00-12:39 The Coens' Inside Llewyn Davis
13:38-23:30 Joanna Hogg's Exhibition
24:24-32:13 Corneliu Porumboiu's When Evening Falls on Bucharest or Metabolism
33:31-41:33 Phillipe Garrel's Jealousy
43:05-1:01:05 Tsai Ming-Liang's Stray Dogs
1:01:06-1:02:48 Close

Arguably the most excitingly and dynamically curated film festival in the world, Peter returns to the New York Film Festival, now in its 51st iteration, for his 8th (!) trip and he couldn't be more excited. Thus begins a series of podcasts dedicated to the various works being presented throughout the festival, now lead by its new head programmer Kent Jones. To help him work through many of the daunting works (in theme, aesthetic, and running time), Boston cinephile Carson Lund, a blogger covering the festival for In Review Online, joins Peter on a tour through violence in capitalist China, fascism in the Northern Philippines, cruising in France, alcoholism in South Korea, and melting ice cream in Nepal. If the rest of the films are as intriguing and exciting as those covered in this first podcast, NYFF51 might just be the best festival yet.

0:00-2:17 Opening
2:47-15:15 Zhangke's A Touch of Sin
15:39-26:27 Miyazaki's The Wind Rises
26:54-37:23 Guiraudie's Stranger By the Lake
37:36-39:48 Trivia Round
40:13-53:43 Diaz's Norte, End of History
54:54-1:06:28 Hong's Nobody's Daughter Haewon
1:07:16-1:20:30 MANAKAMANA
1:20:33-1:23:07 Close / Outtake

The city of Los Angeles might be where Hollywood's dreams come true, but for film critic Jordan Cronk, his mind often wanders toward the films of countries far and abroad, reflective works of the most avant-garde order. So when Jordan decided to make a pit stop in New York before heading off to the Toronto Film Festival, Peter had him drop by the studio for some chat on his work as a critic, the state of world cinema, Los Angeles's growing repertory theaters, how to approach music the same way as film, and his slight obsession with actress Shailene Woodley. They then dream of an LA they never knew with Alex Cox's crazy cult classic, Repo Man, whose humor and political allegory is uniquely distinct and worth deconstructing, as well as simply rocking along with.

0:00-1:01 Opening
2:09-8:31 Establishing Shots - Twixt / Trivia Round
9:16-51:41 Deep Focus - Jordan Cronk
53:05-1:12:11 Double Exposure - Repo Man (Alex Cox)
1:12:13-1:14:47 Close / Outtake

If you want to tell a story on film, you most likely are going to require actors, and hopefully great ones. But how does one talk about how actors do? Sheila O'Malley has more than enough experience in acting, and has become one of the most prolific bloggers of how to discuss the craft, so Peter invites her own to share her experiences and ideas about the profession. Sheila talks about her first acting love (James Dean) and her experience in The Actors Studio, before deciding to take the conversations of her friends and turn them into blog posts. The two also discuss many great iconic performances - Cary Grant in Notorious, Sissy Spacek in Badlands, Alain Delon in Le Samourai - and the way the different actors can approach different roles. Finally, the two work through a truly towering film, John Cassavetes's Opening Night, and examine how it both celebrates the world of acting as well as captures its most terrifying anxieties.

0:00-1:01 Opening
2:08-8:21Establishing Shots - Short Term 12 / Trivia Round
9:06-1:03:33 Deep Focus - Sheila O'Malley
1:05:32-1:29:57 Double Exposure - Opening Night (John Cassavetes)
1:30:00-1:31:41 Close

Robert Greene jokes that he badgered Peter into finally watching his two documentaries, Kati With An I and Fake It So Real. But he certainly didn't badger Peter's opinion of recognizing a true non-fiction talent, someone who is taking the form in new directions through both theory and practice. Robert joins Peter on the show to talk about how he went from a lover of 2001 and Star Wars to a man obsessed with non-fiction cinema, and discusses how he thinks filmmakers can approach their subjects with both approaches to form and content that can compete with the best fiction films. Peter then engages Robert to talk about his own practice to making films, and why limiting his options ultimately freed him in the form. Finally, Robert brings in Peter Watkins's Edvard Munch, a bafflingly brilliant film that the two find plenty to discuss in terms of making a non-fiction approach to a film to encompasses the shift from the 19th century to the 20th at both the cosmic and the micro level.

0:00-1:02 Opening
2:40-8:20 Establishing Shots - Frankenheimer's Seconds / Trivia Round / Donations
9:05-46:20 Deep Focus - Robert Greene
47:47-1:20:31 Kati With An I and Fake It So Real
1:21:28-1:44:04 Double Exposure - Edvard Munch (Peter Watkins)
1:44:06-1:46:01 Close / Outtake

Many of Peter's guests have expressed their feelings about cinema through words. Gina Telaroli prefers images, both moving and still. The experimental filmmaker, image essay maker, and critic sits down with Peter for a very engaging conversation about her work and passion. The two dive into her frame-by-frame analysis of classic Hollywood films and the "unconscious cinema" she unlocks, as well as her obsession with Hollywood workmen Allan Dwan and William Wellman. Peter also gushes about Gina's film Traveling Light, and asks her numerous questions about what he sees as a spiritual work of cinema. Finally, Gina brings in Vincente Minnelli's Gene Kelly-Scottish set musical Brigadoon, a haunting work that both read as a metaphor for the magic and miracle that is cinema and 35mm.

0:00-1:08 Opening
1:48-6:50 Establishing Shots - Computer Chess
7:02-9:05 Trivia Round
9:49-1:10:50 Deep Focus - Gina Telaroli
1:12:07-1:32:48 Double Exposure - Brigadoon (Vincente Minnelli)
1:32:50-1:34:29 Close

One year into The Cinephiliacs, Peter brings in a critic that he's read for almost a decade now: A.O. Scott of the New York Times. Tony joins Peter for a traveled conversation about his entry into cinephilia at the repertory houses of Paris and Cambridge, his thoughts on the craft of writing, and how to think about films in the context of their audiences. Tony also explains how he comes up with those "trend" pieces, the phenomenon of "critic proof" movies and why they matter, and the patterns and differences between recent American literature and film. Finally, the two discuss Robert Altman's The Player, which continues to be the only contemporary successful satire of Hollywood, perhaps because it so closely plays the line between satire and seduction.

0:00-1:05 Opening
1:35-7:02 Establishing Shots -Montage of The Cinephiliacs: Year 1
7:17-9:13 Trivia Round
9:56-1:17:22 Deep Focus - A.O. Scott
1:18:59-1:40:53 Double Exposure - The Player (Robert Altman)
1:40:55-1:43:30 Close / Outtake - On The King of Comedy

Since film discussion has been on the Internet, so has Victor Morton. The very opinionted and didactic film blogger joins Peter for a journey through his cinephile life. Victor tells tales of growing up in both Scotland and Texas before finally finding a voice on the UseNet film groups of the early Internet. The two then discuss his approach to cinema as a political conservative, his approach to viewing films through a Catholic prism, and the continuing wonders of Romanian cinema. Finally, the two dive deep into Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Rosetta, which might not have any specific Christian motifs on its surface, but is so clearly a film that is deeply, deeply spiritual.

0:00-1:00 Opening
2:22-6:57 Establishing Shots - Allan Dwan / Trivia Round
7:42-1:29:03 Deep Focus - Victor Morton
1:29:54-1:59:27 Double Exposure - Rosetta (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
1:59:28-2:02:51 Close / Outtake - Victor on A Clockwork Orange

Being a cinephile outside of places like New York or Chicago is a very different experience than what Peter is used to, so he treks to Northfield, Minnesota for this conversation with blogger Andreas Stoehr. Andreas discusses growing up on classic horror movies and how one manages a cinephile life when the town you live in doesn't even have a multiplex. The two also discuss the major challenges in the blogging universe, the fascinating creatures of horror movies, and the state of LBGTQ cinema. Finally, Andreas invites Peter to examine The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, which is the only film ever written by Dr. Seuss and somehow manages to subvert every social anxiety of 1950s American life. Plus, in honor of Father's Day, Peter has a quick chat with his dad about his cinephile life.

0:00-0:57 Opening
2:22-9:55 Establishing Shots -A Father's Day Interview with Theodore Labuza
10:08-11:10 Trivia Round
11:55-1:07:52 Deep Focus - Andreas Stoehr
1:09:10-1:37:50 Double Exposure - The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T (Roy Rowland)
1:37:51-1:39:53 Close / Outtake

Exploring cinema doesn't just end when the final reel spools; it's also about learning the history and future of how moving images play into our daily lives. At the Museum of the Moving Image, David Schwartz programs the films that accompanying and work into the Astoria-based institution dedicated to this mission. In his conversation with Peter, David describes how he originally got hooked into New York's repertory film scene and how it eventually led him to programming. They discuss the importance of exploring new media and the avant-garde, the difficulties and advantages of the digital transition, and working with an ever changing audience. They finish off their conversation with a discussion of Andy Warhol's Beauty #2, an avant-garde work that David argues for the very precise control of the director in this apparently improvised movie.

0:00-0:57 Opening
2:03-6:00 Establishing Shots - Harris Savides / Trivia Round
6:45-1:00:42 Deep Focus - David Schwartz
1:02:07-1:25:18 Double Exposure - Beauty #2 (Andy Warhol)
1:25:20-1:27:17 Close / Outtake