The Next Picture Show

In lieu of our regularly scheduled episode — postponed two weeks due to the collision of illness and the Sundance Film Festival — we bring you a recording of our recent live episode, recorded at the Chicago Podcast Festival in November 2016. Inspired by the selection process that goes into each Next Picture Show pairing, with each host pitches a future episode inspired by a 2016 film (and letting the audience decide which we'll do). Plus, a game where the hosts — and live audience — challenge each other to find the connective tissue linking two seemingly unrelated films. 

Enjoy, and come back in two weeks for our discussion of WEINER and THE WAR ROOM.

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Jim Jarmusch’s new PATERSON is one of 2016’s best films, and plays like a natural mirror to his breakthrough, STRANGER THAN PARADISE. After waxing rhapsodic about PATERSON for a while, we talk about how the two movies are connected, through their observational approaches, their quirky relationships with time, and their appreciation for the small things in life. We also try in vain to determine whether Jarmusch actually hates dogs, or just finds them unpredictable. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STRANGER THAN PARADISE, PATERSON, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Your Next Picture Show:

* Tasha: John Schlesinger’s COLD COMFORT FARM

* Scott: Fritz Lang’s American films, specifically FURY, YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE, SCARLET STREET, and HOUSE BY THE RIVER (as curated from this Noel Murray overview of Lang’s career: thedissolve.com/features/career-view/222-the-sprawling-obsessive-career-of-fritz-lang)

* Keith: Wim Wenders’ KINGS OF THE ROAD

* Genevieve: Alexis Bloom and Fisher Stevens’ BRIGHT LIGHTS

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Inspired by Jim Jarmusch’s new PATERSON, we take a trip through Jarmuschland, way back to the director’s second and breakthrough feature, STRANGER THAN PARADISE. We talk over the ways in which STRANGER THAN PARADISE helped redefine American independent filmmaking, through its bare-bones style, dry humor, memorable characters, and glimpses of underexplored parts of the country. Plus, some feedback on LA LA LAND and UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, inspired by our last episodes.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about STRANGER THAN PARADISE, PATERSON, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Our melancholy-musical double feature heads from Cherbourg, France, to Los Angeles USA, to see how Damien Chazelle’s new “modern-throwback” musical LA LA LAND stacks up against Jacques Demy’s UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG. We talk over LA LA LAND’s nostalgic appeal and speculate about its staying power, then compare how the two films utilize their settings, love stories, and singing to different but complementary ends. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about UMBRELLA OF CHERBOURG, LA LA LAND, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Your Next Picture Show: 

*Genevieve: Jeff Nichols’ LOVING

* Keith: Martin Scorsese’s SILENCE, Maren Ade’s TONI ERDMANN, Pedro Almodovar’s JULIETA

* Scott: Karyn Kusama’s THE INVITATION

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Damian Chazelle’s new big-screen musical LA LA LAND takes its cues from various singing-and-dancing cinematic predecessors, but its melancholy tone is directly descended from Jacques Demy’s classic 1964 musical THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG — a Next Picture Show favorite that we dig into in this first half. We talk over the effects of the film’s sung-through style and working-class setting, and try to pinpoint that certain je ne said quoi that makes UMBRELLAS so indelible. Plus, some feedback on our recent episodes on MOANA and ARRIVAL.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG, LA LA LAND, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Disney Feature Animation had some ups and downs—both artistic and commercial—in the years between MULAN and MOANA, and we chart them in the second half of our comparison of the two films. After taking a moment for a big collective squee over the great MOANA, we get into the evolution of the Disney female heroine (and her sidekicks) and discuss how music features in these films—perhaps with some singing involved. (You're welcome!) Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MULAN, MOANA or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730.

Supplemental materials:

*"The Translation of 'We Know The Way' From 'Moana' Makes Perfect Sense" (Bustle): bustle.com/articles/196387-the-translation-of-we-know-the-way-from-moana-makes-perfect-sense

*"How Pacific Islanders Helped Disney's 'Moana' Find Its Way" (Vanity Fair): vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/11/moana-oceanic-trust-disney-controversy-pacific-islanders-polynesia

*The 25 Best Films of 2016: A Video Countdown (David Ehrlich): vimeo.com/194508152

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MOANA is a successful new entry in Disney Feature Animation’s ongoing experimentation with non-Western stories and non-white characters, an experiment that was still in its nascent stages around the time of 1998’s MULAN. Inspired by an ancient Chinese poem about a female warrior who disguises herself as a man, the film is an odd mishmash of comedy and war movie, of ancient and modern reference points, and of traditional and CG animation. In this half, we talk over how MULAN fares in 2016, and puzzle over a couple of the movie’s stranger casting choices. Plus, lots of feedback, most of it on ARRIVAL.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about MULAN, MOANA, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Our conversation about movies about talking to aliens moves to the present with Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, which hits many of the same narrative points as CONTACT, but points them in a different emotional direction. We talk about our reactions to the newer film, and how its ideas about science, communication, and emotion compare with CONTACT’s. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CONTACT, ARRIVAL, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

00:00-01:40 - Intro 

01:41-25:34 - "Arrival" 

25:35-39:41 - Connections 

39:42-50:40 - Your Next Picture Show: 

*Genevieve: Ava DuVernay’s 13TH

*Scott: Paul Verhoeven’s ELLE 

*Keith: Criterion’s LONE WOLF AND CUB box set

*Tasha: TORCHWOOD “Children of Earth” miniseries, Ben Wheatley’s HIGH-RISE

50:41-53:41 - Outro 

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This week, we look to the skies to consider two films about the difficulty of communication between worlds, and the inward journeys involved in looking to the stars. Inspired by Denis Villeneuve’s new ARRIVAL, we begin with an in-depth discussion of an earlier film with which it shares many thematic and narrative elements: Robert Zemeckis' 1997 Carl Sagan adaptation CONTACT. We consider the film’s ambition, dissect its blockbuster qualities, and try to determine what makes this unwieldy, emotional movie work so well, almost despite itself. (Spoiler: It’s mostly Jodie Foster.) Plus, a brief feedback discussion on cultural empathy and the movies.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about CONTACT, ARRIVAL, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

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Our discussion of lyrical portraits of unrequited love turns its attention to Barry Jenkins’ MOONLIGHT, the look and feel of which—the final third in particular—recalls the bittersweet tone of Wong Kar-Wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE. We share our reactions to MOONLIGHT, and consider the two films’ shared qualities, including their use of unusual framing and the thematic importance placed on food. Plus, Your Next Picture Show, where we share recent filmgoing experiences in hopes of putting something new on your cinematic radar.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, MOONLIGHT, or both by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Time Codes:

Intro: 00:00-03:00

Main Discussion: 03:01-39:50

Your Next Picture Show: 39:50-

*Tasha: Mike Mitchell and Walt Dohrn’s TROLLS

*Keith: Kelly Fremon Craig’s THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN

*Scott: David Farrier’s TICKLED

*Genevieve: Park Chan-Wook’s THE HANDMAIDEN

Outro: 51:07-54:30

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