Festival Predictions and Closing Thoughts

Thisweet Seaan Fedesy. It's just sweet Amanda Dains. And this is the Big Picture A Conversation Show about Cann. Today on the show, Amanda and I will recount our first trip to the Cannes International Film Festival, the movies we saw, the energy and controversies of the festival, how it all works, and all the titles you'll be hearing about for the next ten months. It's all coming up Right after this This episode is brought you by the Autograph Journey credit card from Wells Fargo. The Autogra Journey credit card from Wells Fargo is built for travel. You can earn rewards wherever you book, your favorite hotel site, your go to airline, and more You get five times points with hotels, four times with airlines, three times on restaurants and other travel and one point on other purchases. Whether it's a big vacation or a quick getaway, from booking your stay to that first meal when you arrive, you're turning your trips into rewards with the autograph Journey credit card from Wells Fargo Learn more at Wellsfargo. com slash autograph journey terms apply So good, so good New summer arrivals are at Nordstrom Rack stores now. Get ready to save big with up to sixty percent off brands like Rag and Bone, Levi's, Adidas, and Free People. Join the Nordy Club to unlock exclusive discounts, shop new arrivals first, and more. Plus, buy online and pick up at your favorite rack store for free Great brands, great prices. That's why you rack Okay, Dobins, you did it. You did it. How are you feel did it I made it to Can, you know? It came true to quote our beloved Anne Hathaway. Day nine for me, is that right Sure. Yeah. seeven or six for you You make it sound like you've entered an extinction level event twenty years later It is day seven for me. Yes. How are you feeling? strong Amazing. Yeah, I'm good. I would stay still moderately jet lagged. Our sleep schedules are interesting at this point, but I've adapted to being a festival creature Just in time to leave, you know, this is my last morning and then I'm getting on the train But It it's been fascinating and fun and silly and sometimes frustrating. and I'm so glad that we came Me too. So yesterday was I think an interesting snapshot of how this experience could worked for me After a long night the night before, I woke up at seven thirty in the morning to go to an eight thirty AM press screening of a movie. We will talk about that movie, which is Heartbreaking And then I met you for an eleven thirty movie and then I went to a two hundred thirty movie and then I went to a five thirty movie in between came back to our apartment put on some deodorant and then went out and had drinks and met friends and were out until two o'clock in the morning, and we're up here at nine AM recording a podcast. Gastter to ten, but that's okay. Good point. A Little slower going this morning That is a snapshot of what it's like here that if you want to do it right, if you want to experience everything You kind of need to hard commit and decide to see everything and also be a social creature at the same time And I'm certainly feeling the after Effects, but I'm glad that we did it and I'm feeling like I really the raft of movies that I've now seen, I just feel so powerful. I feel like like Like I don't even know like the Dragon Ball Zme, you know, like I've just empowered up for the next six months. It's amazing. Most people don't do four movies in a day, as you did yesterday. Most people do, as I understand it, one to none and then take a bunch of meetings and go to parties. Sure. I mean, so this has been interesting, right? Because in some ways this is It's just another film festival, right? Despite the glitz and the glamour and the Europe and the yachtts and the black Ti galas We have been hooing at trying to see. I never did four in a day. I did a lot of three day movies I have three movies today. A couple twos. yesterday was a two. It's fine. I've been here a long time And You know, trying to get tickets, trying to get into screenings, trying to find food in between them, like living by the same schedule that you live at in Sundance or Tellyide or Venice to a lesser extent. in a lot of ways it is very similar to Venice in that it's another ticketed festival So the anxiety is in getting the ticket and kind of making the schedule puzzle fit together and making sure that you can see everything. And then being heartbroken when you miss something as I did yesterday Um, but So we are just being festival rats, right And then sometimes being a festival rat involves running back to the apartment to put on a tuxedo or an evening gown in like twenty minutes flat because to go see the movie and to be there for the big premiere, you have to wear a tuxedo. And as I reminded you, the bow tie is the actual it's the only remaining strict dress code, as I understood it. I mean, they want evening dress, but the heels thing is gone. There were no heel checkers as far as I could tell I mean, I did wear heels, so maybe is that a full time position with benefits heel checker here again? Yeah. in France, you know, everything goes Um, and There you had to wear a gown, but it was more flexible for the women, but the men, you had to have a bow tie. Let's talk about the vibe more generally. Yeah Um I would say I underestimated If not, like the hub bub. the the intensity of humanity that comes to this place and T In retrospect, that makes a lot of sense because it is. this has become the central film festival in the world. Yeah It is it is one of the longest running film festivals, if not the longest running It's the one that has launched a thousand ships of cinema history. It's also one that as we've been talking about for The last five years has become so central to Frankly, US film and US film awards shows. and so there's more attention on it than ever, but also it's a European institution and it's puddle jumper flight away from many major cities in Europe. So you have not just the film industry that descends, but this kind of mass tourist culture that also descends upon it. So there's just so many fucking people here. L That's the one thing that It just differentiates it from other film festivals. You know, Sundance is a crowded film festival, but not like this. You know, Tellyride is not a crowded film festival. I know Venice crowded but Venice is also the Lo is small. and so it's like it feels maybe more conquarable than what happens here. Yes and no. Again, I think Venice is the closest comp because it is also like a European tourist city. And I think what you and I have been taken aback by is not just the crowds in the French system of crowd control, which you can speak about whenever you'd like, but That there just there are a lot of people here just vacationing, right? This is a beach town. This is the Cotzur. And so there are like many families and like pushing their strollers down the quisette like in the middle of a premiere, which is just a choice, not a choice that I would make, not even as a parent, but as a person. you know? It's like when when the circus comes to town, Amanda's leevic But many people are like, hey, let's go see the circus. And so is it is crowded. and there are a lot of people who also seem to come to like gawk at the festival, right? There is a culture of not just, you know, camping out for the red carpets, but there are lots of people dressed up holding up signs being like, one ticket please for whatever movie. There are a lot of programs, I learned about three days in can to kind of get younger people here for a certain amount of time But then they also got a hustle for tickets. So I do think the festival is encouraging a lot of hubub, but yeah, it's like we're on the frontge for Viera It's like, you know, there are just there are a lot of people here Yeah, and I don't blame them for being here, but they're They're in my way is what I'll say. At least whenever I'm trying to get to a line, just so that I can get into a film. The state of this year's festival is interesting. We talked a bit about what the lineup was in going in and maybe there were some films that we expected to be here that turned out to not be here. I think maybe the most significant is The new Ruben Oslin film, the entertainment system is down. He's a two time palm door winner and he his next film is with Keana Reeves and your beloved Sheersten Dunst set on an airplane in which the entertainment system goes down. And everybody assumed that movie would be here and that Ruben would make a bid for his third pum and it's not here And so there I would say that there was amongst those who Really closely follow world cinema, a little bit of doubting in the nature of the lineup U We'll go through all the films at lengths after we get through our sort of temperature check. But sure you know, from the moment that you arrived, was it clear that maybe this was not quite the most elite can weak in recent years It is a tradition of grumbling about the lineup whether you're here or not, right? And it's certainly a tradition among critics, both the critics who get to go here, who get to come to Can every year, which we are now an elite few Tim you know complain, well, I wanted this or that. Last night at dinner, you had your phone out and you were just going through lists of previous years's lightups. with the most fun thing to do in the world. Yeah. Sure. I was actually talking with our friend about human things. but So some of it I knew was just paosturing And also, I arrived here a few days before you And I didn't know anyone. so I spent my time trying to see as many movies as possible and posting on Instagram. And I wound up posting on Instagram like a little more than I needed to, just because I went to see the movies, but it did feel like Filler. or it didn't feel like anything in the first couple of days was going to be essential. Now, one, I could be wrong and two, That is the case of any longer festival, right? That's the other thing that we should communicate about Ken. This is two weeks long And it is full of movies. and it's not there is the main competition which is for the Palm door, but then there are several other tiers. thenen there are special screenings. So just the number of movies that you can see overwhelming even as I was kind of like, well what's going to be essential here? Because you and I For the purposes of this show and as you said, for the purposes of American cinema, like we're palm hunting a little bit because the palm door has been such an Oscars indicator for the last U Six years really, I guess, since parasite one in twenty nineteen, twenty twenty. and has been kind of you know, it's the top prize. so it opens the door to the rest of what's going on again Kan and the rest of worldorld cinema to an American audience U but It was slow. Yeah, it was a little slow. It was It was a slow. And I don't think that anything that I saw The first couple days was like Sean, you like you got to figure out a way to go see That was in competition. because one of the interesting narratives that has emerged out of this week is that while there have now been, I think, maybe three or four titles in competition that are very, very good and that are like couple that I find to be T ti your stuff. U, but Many of the most exciting things have been out of competition or in the Uncartertain Reard category, or in Directors's Fortnite or in the spepecial sccreenings category, or even Can cllassics And that's kind of fascinating because the competition itself is full of former pomm winners and former attendees and it is a very hallowed group of filmmakers that are here But the sentiment amongst almost everybody, that includes both press and your kind of common cinema goer who has come to this festival. I think through the first five or six days was Woof, this is not this is not the best year. I think the tide is turning now as we get into the last third of the festival because of the handful of films that have now premiered. But that was interesting to have four or five days in a row where everyone was kind of rolling their eyes at what they were sitting through despite the incredible privilege and like just kind of general wonder of getting to see some of this stuff. I mean, for me, obviously I have wanted to be here my entire life and have been almost afraid to come here. and there's been a little bit of like a myth dispelling that's been going on. U And is you're right. In some ways, it is exactly like any other film festival. You know, you queue up and you wait and you sit uncomfortably for two and a half hours in a seat thousandousands of Hundreds of people that smell bad and that, you know don't care about your. There's never enough legroom. Yes. just absolutely, you know, the Europeans are compact. We are not And when you're when you're in an unhappy screening, when you're watching a movie you don't care about experien is magnified, but when you're in a great film You don't feel it at all. You never you don't I don't I never thought about legroom during one of the films that we'll talk about. I never thought about who was sitting next to me if it wasn't you So Uh, I I'm having a great time and I'm hopeful actually for my last two days, because you're leaving today and I have a couple more days. so we won't be to talk about the slate in full here But I'm relieved that we were recording today and not on Monday morning If we had recorded on the Monday morning hour time I think it would have been a little bit more a little bit more concerned about the state of the festival Yes, we've gotten several titles and I also Our expectations were reset, but positively because Sunday night like what? three AM We we had we had had one idea of how the festival would go and we had kind of arranged our screenings and our, you know, our tuxedos and our life around that And then we walked out of the Le Lumiere, which is the largest theater where all the films premiere, and we were like, uh oh, or not even uh oh, but We kind like, well, we're going to have to redo this episode outline. We're going have to put some, you know, extra work in the next two days, but it worked out. And, you know, again, that is the way All of these things go for all of the Um There's always an outside machinery that you know, both making all of the like quote unquote glamor, but also the narratives that we participate. And I think you and I always watch this happening from afar And we're like, no, no, I'd like to have an opinion and be able to participate And I'm glad we are. and I I think we can, but at the same time, it's funny how sometimes you don't even have to see the movies to watch how the The narrative shapes Yeah, and that's the last thing I want to say before we get into the slate. is that you pointed this out to me when we were waiting to walk up the red carpet steps at the Pallay at the inter year Which was so fun. It was an incredible experience.ard. It was ridiculous. And unlike at other festivals, at least for Paper Tiger, we were sent fully up the carpet and we just walked in the middle of influencers posing for the banks of photographers on either side. and I'm just like navigating various trains to make sure I don't trip in my heels. You get scolded for taking some photos because that's not allowed on the red carpet, no selfies, no phones. It was a broke down palace situation. I had to go away for a couple days But I was sucked I would' have been so mad. But you walk up these stairs which and the lights are going and It's absurd and exciting, and I'm so glad that we got to do it. I don't know how many more times we need to do it in our life, but I'm very glad we've done it too. It was an amazing experience. And I actually didn't even know we would be doing that, even though we had orchestra seating for this premiere. we still did that same experience that You know, all the filmakers did, and then many other people do it, like it's hordes of attendees go up and and enter in that fashion too But u I bring that up because as we were waiting to go up the steps, you were sort of pointing out to me the photographers, many of whom looked like they were in their seventies, some even in their eighties who had been like real can dogs. They'd been doing this for a very long time. Also in Texas Also into everyone was in txes and gowns and just the like The mechanics of this, the orchestration of this, the mechanized quality of the entire thing, engineered quality of the entire festival is really interesting. It's that perfect image that you see from the red carpet. in order for that to happen It necessitates thousands of people, millions of dollars, loads and loads of preparation and planning. And so to watch it be happening and to have it kind of deconstructed and demythologized in real time was really interesting. It made be a little more cynical as these things tend to And that maybe influences how I see the movies a little bit. a little bit because most other film festivals don't have that. And since I have not been to Venice, yeah, most other film festivals, certainly the filmmakers will be there and they'll come in and speak for a moment, but this is a level of grandeur And know, I don't like social preparation that is unusual relative to those other festivals I don't know if it makes me more cynical just because I am already cynical, but you know what I said to you in line was You know, All glamour is manufactured, right? And there's a lot of And it is kind of all fake and you're doing it all for the image. And I just wanted to see how it was done. And I wanted to see what this version and this scale was. U it I thought it was fascinating, you know, like I have looked at the photos of the red carpet and also the photo calls. We went to know, there are a number of different theaters here at Camp where they do screenings. And our favorite theater is behind the Lumiere and it's called the Agnes Vertda And it sits up some stairs. It has a beautiful view of the harbor, whatever we're calling. The Mediterranean, that's what we're calling it. And As soon as whena got up there, I was like, o, this is where they do the photoc calls. because I have looked at those photos for twenty years and I instantly recognized like the scenery and the backdrop So I like understanding those things and I find it sort of comforting that it is all You know, a lot of people put in a lot of work, a lot of time and money and effort and it is It is made up, but it's also something that people create out of nothing. So there are two ways of looking at it Yeah, it's both things. This is the absolute power station of worldld cinema. This is where Some of the most important films of all time have essentially been burdened to the world. And this is also a place where like Dior looms large with its storefront immediately across from the Lumiere. You know Dior and Chanel, which is just for my fashion heads, it's really they're directly across from the red carpet on the quisette and they both have their latest wears out, including my Dream Chanel dress right there in the window And you almost broke the window last night at two o'clock in the morning to steal that dress and race down the closet, but you did not Any anythingthing else you want to close off on before we go through or everything we've seen You want to talk about the parties at all and party culture in the count You've been to more than I have. I've been to a cult. in some ways, yes, and in some ways no, because that's another funny one where It just turned out to be like every other movie party, which I don't want to, you know, sniff at because we all know I like a party by it. They were all at the quote unquote, beach clubs. So the quazette is it's a road. And it runs down the water along the Mediterranean and on the other side of the road are You know, restaurant beach club type things in the European style, right and they get rented out by either a movie studio or like Nespresso, you know, brands. And so then every night after the premieres there are long lines and people are clamoring to get into these like Frankly glorified beach tents. with, you know, the same cocktails, the Rose, abundant I did have someone hand me a neggrroni at one of the parties, which was like, you know when I died and went to heaven. And at one point, I am told I was in the same room with Dua Lipa, but did not know it, which was my real heartbreak. I've got two heartbreaks of Can so far Number one, missing a movie we're going talk about and number two, not knowing that I and Jaipa were sharing beach tent space. But at the same time, you know, there are plenty of parties, as you pointed out that we were not invited to. We didn't get on a yacht And so, you know, it's something to strive for next year. We didn't get to We didn't get to the cap which is the famous hotel in Anti, which, you know, I Googled many times at like four AM. And we almost made a last minute bid last night and we restrained ourselves. Yeah, which was the right call because once again, we had to podcast at We were supposed to be here at nine AM. I don't know if we really hit our call time, sorry again, Jack and crerew U there You know, it was it's the same thing as the carpet and everything else where the parties are the ficture. And you know, Bella Hadid has been photographed like all over Cn like enjoyed like She was also on a yacht. Like sunbathing and it's been sixty five degrees and lovely weather here, but not, you know, yacht sun bathing weather. So what you see on Instagram or you know, the photos and then the reality They are like everything elses different that just different I wonder as we talk about the movies, if well, if there will be a similar experience for people when these movies start to come out into the world too. That's something I always think about is How much of the reaction is quote unquote, correct from the outset and not I've pointed a couple of times to the infamous Eddington premiere here last year. And A Astro's movie opened here. it perceived a very negative response and then opened over the summer And while it didn't make up very much money at the box office, it kind of very quickly accrued a staunch U defense system for what it was trying to accomplish. And I think the reputation of that movie has transformed a lot in twelve months And that's something that maybe will happen to some of the movies that we talk about here where at first glance or in the room and how much the room affects your reaction willll indicate in one way or another I'm not sure there's Too many examples, not as divisive a slate this year, I say I can think of a couple of examples where you and I which room you and I saw a film here at Can had a real effect on our interpretation of it as opposed to people. And you know, it's really, are you there for the Gallu premiere in the room with everyone versus a press screening which It's not just the audience that's different, but the energy, it's a little a little more work a day and what you're willing to buy into depends a little bit in which room you're sitting in, whether it's in a different room and can or at home. So that's right, that's right. And you and I have access to two different press screening rooms in addition to the Varda in addition to you know, external movie theaters on the Cisette, there are various just general audience movie theaters that are screening films here over this two week period as well. So we I feel like I've now really had the gamut. Like I've been in, I think I've been in every single room I've been the Bunuil, I've been the Bazan, I've been in yeah, you know, the WbC. I've been in Arcades I've been in Olympia. like there's there's a lot of mo I to see movies. You didn't go to Sinan, but I did. And so that is yeah, that's a movie theater like three miles away. and I mean, I saw a movie onn the same floor as like a screen X It was just a basic movie theater with like a lot of people going on a Saturday afternoon to see normal movies. And that was also cool because it was clear there was another canan culture of seemingly younger or younger than me, people just waiting out at a different location to kind of try to see the second and third run movies away from the hubub. And they were just like sitting on the floor at your local AMC or whatever. I don't think AMC operates is allowed to operate in France. But just hanging out and trying to see movies. And so that's an even different kind of room, a different reception, which is cool. There are people here who like movies there's in addition to all the Kusty dogs that I was talking about, there's just a ton of young people. And I know I'm a clown whenever I say Cinema is alive and we're back, but like It's impossible to not feel that way when you're here because everyone is just so excited to see things. There's so much enthusiasm for this stuff. And I'll use that as an entree into the discussion of the films. The moment in which I felt that the most deeply this week was at an eight thirty AM screening of Jordan Furirstman's club kid whichich is a movie that I will say candidly when I saw that it was accepted to the festival I was surprised. I wouldn't say it was extremely high on my list of two C's because I arrived a couple of days late. It had already premiered and gotten very warm reception, but I was like I'll see for myself And From my perspective, it may end up being my favorite movie at the festival. There have been a couple of movies in the last couple of days that have risen to it, but for three or four days I was like, well, this is not just a surprise, but it is the straight up best movie here, even though it is in one certain regard and not in the main competition. And as soon as I saw as soon as it was over, I texted you immediately and I was like, Svie is fucking wonderful. Like you have to see this. And you did Ag, ye, later that afternoon. Yeah, it was, you know, as you said, that moment very early on when you're sitting there in a movie and you're just like, o, this is happening. Like it's all clicking. and you can tell very quickly and U It's such a special movie. It's really classical in a lot of ways despite being a movie set in the like Cub kids, you know, in like Qeer cllubs in twenty sixteen and then now, you and I both learned a lot of lingo about some subcultures that we didn't previously know about This is a very drugs forward movie but also not in an annoying way. I guess that is one thing that every description of it sounds kind of irritating if you're not A subscriber to it But It is warm hearted, a lot more depth than I think either of us expected. and like hasn't has as much in common with Kramer versus Kramer as it does with, you know w for a dream or whatever. So it's U There is nothing like not knowing anything. and going in or knowing very little or not having the hype of six months of, you know, secondhand, ooh, I saw this and that and just having something work so totally. And that's the other thing It is completely formed. L it works beginning, middle and end. They make several smart choices, great performances, very funny Um And funny even if you don't get all the New York inside jokes, as most of the crowd I was with didn't. Also the New York inside jokes are great They are very good. So Firstman, people will know him from I love LA, the HBO, Rachel Sennett series, Maybe Rotting in the Sun, which played Sund Dance a few years ago. just like a very funny online comic figure And as you said, like I maybe had not expected that he would deliver a movie with this level of depth and craft and sincerity. It very quickly pivots away from being a very in your face comedy to being a much more sincere drama, honestly about on care of it And I Growing up and growing certainly. And also maybe arriving at that stage in your life in your early thirties where you're like, oh oh Maybe wasn't as prepared for this part of my life as I needed to be, which is also I think, will be very resonant for a lot of people. And I very quickly noted that producer of the movie One of the producers in the movie is Alex Coco, who was Seawn Baker's producer on Anora and is widely considered one of the smartest independent film producers around and you can definitely sense is influence and I'm sure helping Fman develop this movie and get it to where it is because and they make just an incredible accommbodation and I'm really excited about this movie and it was acquired by A twenty four, which I think every living human who was watching it was like, how was this not already an A twenty four movie? Yes. But it's so far the big pickup of the festival and I expect will be A big thing through the rest of the year. Any any other thoughts on Cubkid I'm just excited to talk about it for the rest of the year. and it's going it's going to be a fun one to have around. very fun press tour. and like it's going it's going to be a great however many months once it comes out. So I'm I'm Really excited. Okay, let's talk about Sord Okay Seord is a fascinating film. It was my pre festival pick for the palm and I don't know if it's my pick for the palm quite yet. We'll get to our predictions in a moment. Oh so you're wavering now? Well I don't know. I don't know. I have my feelings are moving in a lot of directions. But Fjord is Christian Mju's new film, the Romanian filmmaker who previously won the palm back in two thousand seven and has been here a couple times before And this film is I'm reluctant to say it his most mainstream film, but it does star Sebastian Stan and Renota Rhinzva. and they play a couple that has immigrated to Norway from Romania. Rhineszva's character is Norwegian, but she lived in Romania with her husband, played by Stan, and they come with their five children And once they arrive in Norway, they learn that The culture of Norway is very different from the country that they have come from. They're a very religious, conservative family and Norway is of course, understood to be a very progressive country and the movie pursues differentiation in cultures and what can happen to this family and the community surrounding them. and absolutely love this and it is exactly the kind of thorny deate forward Yeah movie that I think thrives in this environment here can that is the, you know, in shades of Anatomy of a Fall, I would say, whereere as soon as the movie is over, you want to be like, well, okay, so what do we really think was going on here? And elicited I would say a pretty strong reaction, not a rapturous response very clearly solidly. this movie is very, very good What did you think? I think we both walked out and we were like, yes. And Fjord premiered on Monday, which was also essential because like we needed it. There was a lot writing on Fjord being good. I think it was probably it's to both of our tastes, both in the actors, Sebastian Sanda Renada Ryesve, you know, it's set in a beautiful mountain town in Norway. so you were pretty psyched about that. And I thought it looked beautiful, even though I don't want to visit. And Um, it is it's about kids among other things. So there was a certain Pulling like a very personal pulling or gnawing in my stomach during all of the debates, which you lean in, right? It has's it's definitely this year's anatomy of a fall To me it was a little I was thinking of the drama a little bit where you're like arguing with the screen in real time. I like, No, I don't know, whoo do I think is right? And what do I think is right? And like where am I going? And it does maintain that tension. and I think gives you enough information, but to a point you made as we were walking out also withholds enough It does not spell everything out for you in a way that I think is very smart and disciplined. Yeah, I was I was really into it and You know, once again, the Scandinavian peoples like a tough break in the in the filmic space, I guess depending on your they take some Ls in this f. Yeah. The Norwegians take some Ls. There's no doubt about it. And that doesn't necessarily mean that the people of Norway are wrong on the issues that are explored in the film. Sure. But that's sort of what is so fascinating about it. and you know We're reluctant to really spoil any of these movies because they made five, six, nine months away from release. This one in particular is a unique case where I think in the wrong hands and this movie may get into the wrong hands, who knows? It could be refracted and misrepresented culturally in terms of what its purpose is. I think It makes a choice in the last third that I think I do think it worked for me and brings in another dimension, but to your point can also can start be be taken down the wrong conversational path Yeah. and I think if you're dogmatic in your thinking, then the movie is not it necessitates a nuanced interpretation. So othertherwise, I think the movie kind of much like the Norwegians. Well, yeah, yeah I mean, my takeaway, as I said to immediately after I walked out the movie, I was like, it really feels like Christian Manju went I onm like a terrible to vacation in Norway. His director's statement about the movie says this is said in Norway, but it could happen in any Nordic country. We still've thought about it so often. Very very entertaining. Stan and Rinesva are both wonderful. Stan in particular, I thought was terrific as this extremely tightly wound Romanian man Stan's family, his mother is from Romania, he speaks Romanian This is a he shaped his head for this role. It's a very unglamorous part. bothoth actors, I would say, not very showy performances, much more restrained because this is a very kind of tight and religious family that they're portraying But I was very impressed I just think it's very cool that he and Reinv choose to use this moment in their careers to make movies like this, which is really a difficult film. And but also very entertaining and kind of' going to sayrier It's it's not it's not fun. It's not club kid. It's not heartwarming, but it is absolutely engaging and watchable. That's the thing. You're not sitting there being lectured about capitalism We will get to that. You wantanna seg way Yeah, Do you want to go let's talk about all of this things? Well I would you know, if you if you're ranking them, it's we're getting close, right? Yeah, I think that this is well, I'll hold off on Minotaur for a minute since you haven't said that. but Yeah, we're sort of moving in order here in terms of preference. All of a sudden is Rice G is Hamaguchi's new film and it is a one hundred and ninety six minute epic about elder care and the French health social services system. In and also love and humanity It truly is that. And is it's a ride, it's a ride. I would say roughly halfway through the film, I was genuinely concerned that it was an utter miscalculation and by the end I was in tears. And it is durational and I think led me to It like a real moment of kind of this like ecstatic realization of what he is pulling together, which is something that more or less happens in all of his movies. but gu one I would say is also more didactic and more even more ideas for it. As I said to you, like, it's so rare to see a director takes his theme and just makes it the text in the movie. So this is a movie about the way in which systems degrade humanity, particularly capitalism and remove this kind of essential human connection that we seek because we are forced to participate in this broader system. and especially by setting the movie in a world of elderly people who are kind of at the end of their life and who have fewer people who are caring for them or looking after them. And there's this very select group of people in these elder care facilities who have to like Really take care of these people every aspect of their lives, you know, taking them to the bathroom, cleaning them you know, caring for them, making eye contact with them. like every level of detail is portrayed in this movie Um, but also it has like a kind of like U Puckish sincere funny spirit to it. you know, it's not it's not a doom and gloom movie The movie does spend a lot of time specifically talking through the ideas including one pererhaps soon to be notorious wiiteboard sequence and y Capitalism is explained at large for twelve minutes. I mean, as I was sitting there, I just thought the memes will be amazing. and I have found myself throughout the week as this scene Th this is this is the scene that returns a lot of people or that people have complained about, I guess in the not so warm reviews, which it has been People really admire this movie if they aren't like jumping up and down about it. But then you hear about the whiteboard scene. And I just have to say that I instant cllassic, you know, I was like, oh, here we go. I know how I will be using this once everyone has seen this, I will be using it for many years to come. And you know, that is cinema in its own way as well. This one, I was really moved by this one, which I did not expect to be about. but you know, I'm not always a patient film goer. I also accidentally slept through my first screening of this film M you sleep and you didn'tleep during the movie? No, no, I didn't sleep. Yeahah, no. I acc I set my alarm for PM instead of AM and I woke up at two thirty in the afternoon and was like, well There goes that. And meanwhile, you are you quite literateally texted me, Are you alive So this is one where You know, met the rest of my commitments and I was there at eight AM. to see a three hour and fifteen minute movie about the F healthca system. And I was like, I don't know how this is going to go. I don't know if I'm going to be in the right headspace for this. does require you to give yourself over to it. and you know, you can almost And I think this is like a good thing like a public service. it can be a how to manual at times for how to care for an older person or a disoriented person, but also like how to be a person in the world. But to your point, there is that level of specificity U And that level of time spent, I don't think the truncated version would work because there is something magical that it does. it It forces you to either leave or sit through all of this and learn and get into like a different headspace. and a headspace where I Amna Dobbins don't spend a lot of time. I liked the whiteboard scene, but imagine me sitting through you know, a lecture of someone drawing to me on a whiteboard in real life, even you would never happen So We should start doing that though. I should start doing like coaching style breakdowns, like John Gruden style breakdowns of films while you watch I mean like coaching class I We just need access to a Testrator. you know, I just do. We just need Amanda's Tellestrator segment. I made this request. No. Just imagine like all of the production design breakdowns that I could do, this, that and the other, drawing the arrows Um There is something there is something like meticulous and like kind of exquisite in the construction. of the movie where, as you said, in the last hour it all comes together and there's kind of a wonder of like, wow, I can't believe we all got here and I can't believe one hundred percent I can't believe that you landed this and I've never seen it done in quite that way U, but it was as veryer, very moving and And cool. And again, unique, I thought. L it's and unexpected Yeah. So Virginie Afira, the French actress, plays the director of the nursing home And an actress, Tao Akamoto plays a woman named Mari who comes into her life. She's a theater director U and they form a very quick bond. and they create an unusually intense friendship connection and It's really her performance, I think, that kind of like, makes the movie work ultimately and she's a very empathetic very open actor and what happens to her character, I think is kind of what kind of transforms the community of the story. and it's I totally agree with you about that last hour where you're almost like, I felt like with like thirty minutes left I was like, wow, this actually did come together. I can't believe this came together because I was like I said, I was very dubious halfway through. I was like, this kind of feels like like a bungle. and it wasn't. It's clearly designed to do exactly what it does But it is also it's a really big cast because it's set at a care facility. so and you spend time with the patients, you spend time with the other nurses and caregivers. He nails every single casting, every single performance and they're all pretty essential. It all has to together L the puzzle pieces are very small And So when you see The smaller bit characters also have growth and be resolved and they each kind of get their moment, but it doesn't feel like, o, so and so got their moment too. It really just Once you see how it all works together, it's pretty sounds shit It is. We will be covering it again in the future Oh yeah Let's talk about paper Tiger U that was the first premiere that we attended that you mentioned I was in talkx you were in gown This is James Gray's new film. is extremely familiar terrain for Greay. In fact, I think the movie was originally conceived as a kind of sequel. Armageddon time and hit turns to become much more of a kind of genre crime film than what was what transpired in Armageddon time, But it stars Adam Driver, Miles Teller and Scarlet Johansson. Perhaps the stariest movie that we have here. Driver and tellell her were on the red carpet And Greay has been to the Canampfilm festival six times And This movie is As I've said to you And as I feel with so many of Gz's musies, who is like who's my buddy you know, so you know, just all all objectivity aside here U It's just so eerie how it's so similar to so many aspects of My family's life that when I watch his films, especially Armageddon Time in this film and to some extent we own the K night to U that I have feel like a little bit of an out of body experience at a certain point. Well, I'll just set up what the movie is about. It's about two brothers living in Queens in nineteen eighty six. And Teller is an engineer and kind of a working class guy married to Scarlet Johansson. he has two sons driver is a retired police officer who's kind of a swashbuckling endeavoring businessman, and he comes to his brother with an idea for a new business and that business involves The oil industry in Sheep's Head Bay and the Russian mafia And I can imagine that things don't go well from there and they get into some serious trouble and the movie at times isn't utterly ripping thriller. There are some moments in this movie that I think are as good as any moments in James Cray's entire filmiography I there wass a moment in the film where the camera leans in on a photograph Adam Driver policem's uniform and he looks exactly like my father. Like there's just the home that Teller's family lives in, the brick home is the home that my mom grew up in. L there are so many weird details and this sounds a little bit like, well, you would understand it if you don't have a kid, but he just kind of gets that world, which is his world. The film is extremely autobiographical. you can tell Gs it so right And For me, it obviously elevates it and I'm already lacking a certain objectivity when it comes to James's films. But I really, really liked this movie. What did you think Yeah, this is a James Gray podcast. We We're James Gray Stance. and this was the one where I was like, I need to be at this premiere. And it was a little bit, as you mentioned, because it was it was the American movie in competition. And so kind of like the biggest stars. it had the Saturday night Gala preremiere nine hundred thirty U And you know, lots of curtain calls. So I wanted to be there for the fanfare, but also I wanted to see these actors that I really love in a director who I really love. So it's it's a James Gray movie. so you know, two thumbs up for me. It has Scarlt Johansson doing the Well, we all know that I'm up and down with Carlt Johansson, but And I think she's good in this, but she's doing now what I'm going to call either the songsong Blue or M Drag, which is like, you know, a modern glamorous actress putting on a bad wig and frumpy clothing and being like Ah shucks, like I'm I'm just a mom. And she's given more to do and there's emotional depths, but I'm starting to become slightly too resistant to this particular type of performance. like Everyone else thinks she's the best thing in the movie. So, you know, it's always your mileage will vary. Yeah, we had some interesting conversations in the aftermath of this movie with other critics and folks who covered films where some said this is Grey's best film. This is his opportunity to break into the Oscar race after all these years of being such a critical favorite and some were like I hated it. And it's an interesting divide. I'm much more leaning towards this is' best film, but to me it is not his best film. But it is so interesting the way it borrows from so many components of his other movies. I just spent a lot of time rew watching Little Odessa, his debut film. because I interviewed James for the Criterion collollection edition that they're putting out. in August. And so I watched that movie maybe two or three times and you know, it's a movie about Bothers in Brighten Beach who get mixed up in a world of crime and who have a complicated relationship with their families. L The same is true for the yards. The same is true for we on the night. The same is true for a lot of these it's a kind of a Um, It's almost like a collage collusion of a lot of ideas that he's been working on over a thirty plus year period of time The thing is I thought the Scarl Jonson performance worked because very similarly She just sounded like my mom. a lot like that character, like I was talking to David Er like the Indie Wire critic whose family is also from that part of the world. And he was just like, that is what that woman sounds like. That's how she acts. And it can seem a little bit like drag when it's a movie star doing it U by I thought it was at least on point Adam Driver in the movie is phenomenal. It is among the best things he's ever done and his character is fascinating. And he's a he's also a very familiar archyect to me of a certain kind of, you know Industrious New York guy Again Also Miles Teller, who I think has been kind of mailing it in for the last five or six years But you can tell put in a lot of work on this movie. He looks good. And he sold his wonderful alcohol company. I'm happy. Yeah. What was the name of that Pall drink, long drink, L drink. L drink ink He sold long drink. didn very well. Someone demned me being like, shouldhould I try long drrink? I was like, why are you DMmning me? Just buy it's you know, five dollars we drank it on this podcast on the celebrity liquor tasted. It was pretty good But I like Teller too. So I think all three of those kind of ct performances our good driver is I'm kind of wondering now if D driververs going to win best actor here. Like I, you know, I don't if the movie does catch the Oscar heat, like there's a campaign there for him. You think he'd be the best actor and not best supporting? That to me seems like a real a support a good strategy ye. Launchpad. Yeah. And then and he does he walks away with every scene, but it is about the Miles Teller family. I he and Scarjo would both run in supporting. wereere I running it becausecause I don't care about category fraud No think I think that's really smart. And maybe maybe we actually have a chance He's dressed like Patrick Bateman most of the time and it's quite powerful. orr you know, like Gordon Gecko, it's late mid late eighties in New York and he wearing the suits. and It's it's powerful stuff It's a movie about how if only this family who was experiencing such turmoil could have waited three months to watch the New Yk Metss Win Wld series You know, that's really what's about. It's nineteen eighty six. That's when it's set We see a M' banner on one of the young son's walls. Right, but they don't they aren't watching any M games at No. but if only they let them know get talked We do we see Shay in the background, right? Yeah Yeah. yeah and Shay, but I mean, it's a it's it's an elite Eite outer borough New York movie. like three minutes in, you turned to me and you were just like, this is where like this is it, this is me, you know, once again. I was I've been in all those houses and you know, like there's just something there's something to that. But yeah, so it'll be interesting to see how this is received because it has been divisive and Greay has just not been able to getet over those humps. you know, He hasn't won a prize here Ken before. We'll see if he does this year. He hasn't been nominated for an Academy Award There's definitely an original screenplay story to be told here. There's a bunch of acting opportunities potentially. This movie is coming from Non presumably in the fall. So we'll be talking about it again here soon This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome, that's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a fifty page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online makes sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responssees set upp required compatibility and availability varies eighteen plus I'll talk about Minatur and you talk about an my asthma, okay? So Yes U Minotaur is AndreZaggostev's new film It is a kind of not so loose remake of Claude Chabr's the Unfaithful wife, which is also probably best known to American audiences as the Adrian Lon film, Unfaithful, starr Diane Lane and Richard Geere. and Um It is his version of that story, which is about a woman who's having an affair with a younger man and what happens when her husband finds out this is set against the Ukraine Russia war. and so filmmaker, this Russian filmaker, There's been a lot of press about him over the last five years and how he hasn't made a movie in some time and how he was very ill and I guess was pronounced dead for like forty minutes a few years back has kind of re emerged, left Russia and has made this new movie, which portrays the ways in which kind of individual violence is mirrored and protected by state violence and the way that the kind of Russian oligarchy manages and navigates Um So The way that individuals allowed or not allowed to live in that country. Extremely interesting movie that plays for about an hour and a half as a pure thriller and then pivots in its final forty five minutes into being a much more clearly socially constructed, metaphorical ur suit I think it's very good a little reluctant to proclaim it great. Some some of our colleagues here are proclaiming it great. You didn't get a chance to see this movie. It does feature very strong performances from a Russian cast that I'm not very familiar with I found the like overarching metaphor to be An inch obvious I do think it has incredible social import. And so because of that, I do think that the film is going to draw a lot of attention. And it is a filmmaker who has not won the Pem before, you know, has been cons you know, he made Leviathan, he made endless, like he's made a bunch of movies now that are very, very well liked And So I I don't know if it's my resistance to it in part because what happens is you see a movie like Fjord. And you're like, oh, that's what I want That is feels like the best to me. L you also w to be right because you predicted Fjord last week. And so ye And there is a bit of this where, you know People hear, critics, people on the street. I mean, we were stopped by a very nice listener, I believe, from the Netherlands who was just like Minotaur, that's it. That's the one. And I wasuck because for scheduling reasons, I couldn't get there U Al also, I mean, I'm just pissed that I missed. I didn't I didn't understand. the premise and the connection to my beloved unfaithful in quite the way that It's fine I'll see the film and then we can Part of my issue is, I'm like, this is just unfaithful.ook set in the world of a war in Russia But let me say that I would watch an unfaithful every single year I'm very, very pro that movie So. Anyway, but there there are people, everyone is picking their winner, right? You know, everyone's like picking their little bit of grround being like, no, it's going to be Minotur, No, it's going to be Fjord, no, it's going to be the Hamaguchi. So you picked your corner And you're defending your corarter. That's fine. It's good to believe in yourself Yeah, I like the movie. Iris Leadeeva, who plays the wife gives an amazing performance Anatoy Belly, gives an amazing performanceces as the husband It's a very good film And maybe it will emerge triumphant, we will see. But talk about right, teenage sex and death at Camp M Myesba. So this is the new James San Brun film and it premi, it's an uncertain regard. on Club Kid, which is kind of like the I mean, not to be rude, but sort of the JV league And and it was the big premiere. So they brought the jury up on stage and it stars Jillian Anderson and Hannah Eininder and they were both there And, you know, dressed up, its it's not black tie required at the Uncertain Reguard preremieres, but People make their best effort And this is It will surprise no one to learn a But A meta slasher movie about a director who is trying to reinvent and kind of resuscitate An old genre Um, like an old an old franchise and goes to meet the Gloria Swanson Eeske. star of the original the original franchise in order to convince her to star in the new one. and then U There are revelations about I the self and one's relationship to two screens and to ent to life It is defeinitely my favorite of the James Stenbreun movies because it's many of the same themes and even some of the same executions, like there are many easaster eggs and lots of recreations and homages and it comes from real love of movies and knowledge of movies. It's like its it's playing it's playing to the crowd, but also playing to personal interests U But then also the themes ab of identity and sexual discovery and how hard it is to be in the world and what can make that easier? I found it Um a little more pop. Honestly, there are a number of reasons for that, including that there is there's a whole plotline about The directors interactions with agents and Hollywood individuals. So they they're It's less academic and more accessible is what I would say, some great music cues. And it certainly gets involved in the last third of the movie, but I was along for the ride. So I thought this movie was really interesting and a lot of fun. And ye I'm excited for other people to get to see it This is the one I'm most jealous to have missed and because I came a couple of days after you, I wasn't able to see it. hopefully it'll be able to see it It opens in August and Yeah, Jane was on the show for I saw the TV gllow, which I thought was utterly fascinating and frrankly a deep textual analysis of relationship for the relationship we have to slashers is like, nine percent of my personality. So I'm pretty re pretty excited about that movie. Let's talk about Fatherland. We're still in the good category right now, that these are movies that we liked here at the festival. Fatherland is Pubakaowski's new film, his first film since Cold War It is a and yet another black and white Beautifully shot movie with Lucasal, the cinematographer It stars Sandra Hooler and Hans Ziesler and August Del. free icons of German cinema. And it is about Thomas Mann, the German novelist, writer, philosopher, literary icon hisis daughter, Erica and their return to Germany after World War II after he and his family had fled during the rise in Nazi power. on a very brief film. Sub eighty minutes long, S seventy five minutes long. seventy two, I think was the clock that I trcked which is very different here from most of the other films, which are roughly two and a half hours each. And This is a very stately, thoughtful examination of kind cultural and national identity individual thought versus the state, some Similar ideas to Minotaura and Fjord here It is a quiet movie U I I did See a couple of people describe it as melatoninesque U I liked it more than that. That's re. I think so too. It is like the third film I saw here and so I think I was very eager to have a kind of quality autor ort I think that's what it is. I think this is a good movie. I think Slaure Hooler is amazing in it, as she often is in most things. And I think I had actually a little bit more verb. There's a party sequence that is a lot of fun Yeah And a beautiful music sequence and an amazing opening sequence also ery memorable onene shot, but As I said to you, in the trilogy of bllack and white examinations of post war trauma, which is, you know, EdA, Cold War and now Fatherland It's third, but it that doesn't mean that doesn't mean that it's bad. It just means that the other two are spectacular. and this is reallyally good and you know, it's variations on a theme, which is cool. We should let filmmakers You know, try things for the most part. And and Um Much like the James Gray fil, much like Paper Tiger. It is rewarding to be familiar enough with the Notura and their interests and their frame of reference to be able to compare and contrast. The J enbent is also like that. I'm totally with it, but, you know, it's not Eda, that's all. And when you're making a film in the same visual style and in the same thematic, like neighborhood you know, you're you're you're going to think about it. Yeah, you are going think about it. Okay, let's talk about two more good movies and then we'll talk about The bad and the what the fuck? ' those are also fascinating. You want to talk about Nogi notes before I go last This is this was another early in competition movie. It's directed by Koji Fukada and based on a play and it is D Another quiet movie about people discovering things and also the way that the systems of the world perhaps inhibit them from disiscovering things that's set in a small Japanese town Nagi where A woman comes home yeah, she comes home or she comes to see like her ex sister in law. And like take a break from Tokyo and it's about these people's lives and their, you know, their artists and their lost loves. and Also and it's all set to the backdrop of likeike a local military base U and the training that is going on U Which is just kind of like in the background, setting the tone and setting the pace of the movie really You know, again, it's about like self discovery and also it's It's about making art. onene of the characters is a sculptor. so it has a lot of that cool U I love it when filmmakers really figure out how to communicate the actual the making, the physical making of the art and the a lot of timees spent on that And is like the Hamaguchi in that People over time hopefully learn something about themselves, but there is no it's not quite as didactic, which is nice. It's more observed. But I thought it. I thought, you know, lovely can sound reductive, but it is Like a slightly wistful, lovely That's great. I'm looking forward to seeing it. You know, You gotta have a couple of those at a film festival. You do Yeah, the last one is that I was able to pre screen this movie, which is Kyoshi Kurosa as the Samurai and the prrisoner, which just screened last night and seems to be getting Borderline Rapturous reviews, which is very cool to see. Curso has come up quite a bit on the show over the last two years, I would say a veteran Japanese filmmaker, probably best known for Cure, Adam Naman is a super fan and has very eloquently exxplained what makes him such a special director. He had Cloud last year, he had the short film Chime He remade one of his own film Serpentss Path, which was just released this year as well. He's having a moment Kala and This new movie is his first samurai film and it is a really interesting film. It's basically If a what if a sort of samurai lord and fifteenth century Japan. Also Sherlock Holmes. and has to solve a series of mysteries while bunkered down in a fortress during a time of a war between clans And He takes a prisoner from the opposing side and that prisoner kind of becomes his Watson. And so Masiro Matoki plays the The u Sherlock Holmes ask Samurai and Masaki Suda plays Um Konde has kind of his Watson And even though he's imprisoned in a basement, they kind of confer and they talk about the details of every mystery that keeps coming up. reallyally interesting movie Beautifully staged incredible production design. it's missing just an inch of that like insidious discomfort that I think comes in a lot of Ksawa's best movies It's not quite as funny as Cloud was to me, which I thought was just a hilarious movie about dumb criminals that Not interesting to see a guy, you know, who's in his sixties, you know, still who was kind of an icon of Japanese cinema at this point. taking on what is widely considered the most haallllowed genre to the culture and making something new and different, something that I've not seen before. And last night at the preremiere of the film, there was this cool moment where All of that. Japanese filmmakers who are present here, including Herkaza Koreeda. and Hamaguchi and a handful of others they're basically just to to doff their caps and cite the influence that Kurosawa has had on their careers. So that's cool that that can happen. I wish I had seen it there instead of alone in a screening room now because it would might have felt more like more of an ecstatic moment of arrival for that movie. But again, that movie is also out of competition as our a bunch of these good films that we're talking about here that are not really competing for the palm And there's something kind of fascinating about I don't know that I totally understand why this movie isn't in competition. can I get the case for why Jane's movie and Jordan Firstman's movie are in certain regard Jan's movie probably should be in competition, honestly. Yeah. It's their third film previous two films were huge critical sensations. They're becoming like a big deal in indieinema U, First minute I get it is a debut. This movie though, I'm like, I don't this is a terrific genre mash upp from a Japanese master. Why is this happen? Anyway, maybe there are reasons that we don't understand. But this is one of those things where there's still like there's still unexplained unexplored stuff even when you come here Yeah. well, I mean, maybe one of the reasons and again, we don't have access to Tier' Google Docs to understand Oh if we did Oh yeah, you think you think Tier is on Google does C me and is that they had to make room for, you know, the great masters of World cinema, even if those films were not really up to par, which perhaps takes us to The bad Wh includes some of the greatest working filmmakers just not making their greatest films this year Yeah, the second movie that I saw at the festival is parallel Tales Wh This is another thirty for you, right It was. Yeah Yeah. you had seen this movie before me because when I arrived, you and I did not immediately connect, even though they were staying in the same apartment. I didn't see you for like the first twenty four hours. You said I would have just spared you and said, you don't need to go see this. But asZazar Farhadi, Iranian filmmaker who is a pomdoor winner has made a great many terrific films over the last twenty five years u averse skilled master making a French film with Isabell Per and Bisak Casell and Virginia Fira and Katherine De Neuve shows up in this movie. It is a collection of French luminaries And it is a kind of soft adaptation of a handful of Christopf Kislaowski stories from the Dealologogue and I think red, it has some elements of red in it And u It's a snooze man. It's boring and DOA. Yeah, it's just not very compelling The performances are a little dull. It has a core idea in it that is actually somewhat similar to the idea in the Pedro Almadobar movie that we will talk about around Yeah creation and sort of like an author's vision and where those ideas come from And in some ways there'd be a neat pairing But what Almadovar does is like so much more interesting and entertaining And ultimately, Resident. Um, Aain, no That's we'll talk about that movie in a second, but this movie is just like just it's two and a halfours it's dull Test Isabelle Cair as the old Cone who doesn't get to leave her, you know, it's like Isabelle who pair's rear window except if, you know, Jimmy Stewart had no juice And and then there's and there's no like Grace Cal hate pumbing at any point Yeah You can't do that And then Vinicaslles is cast. He plays a double role, but it's another man with no juice and you're just kind of like, yes, hello. These are your French stars who have major juice. what are we doing here? And that's kind of the minute that you know. and you keep waiting like, oh, are you going to let Isabelle Cuer outside? Is she going to get to do anything? And you know She does not and the movie didn't know what to do with her or misuses her and misuses everyone else. I don't I don't understand. And that was a real like, why am I watching this movie? I did feel the first few days I watched a lot of like just okay wise. there is absolutely It's not even that I don't understand the personal connection. it's just did anyone, was anyone here? What was interesting about this? to any person. And I well the prem is sure, but No, I mean, it raises a useful discussion also around the next film which You didn' get a chance to see what I saw, which is Sheep in the Box, which is Coreeda's new movie. Now Fjadi and Coreeda are both palm winners. And so if they have a new film Yeah., directors have proven track records It's probably hard to say to them No, you're not going to be in competition this year. And so both of these movies are in competition. Coreate' film On paper sounds very like familiar in for him as well. It's about a couple who are experiencing tremendous grief after losing a child and so in order to counteract equreities. pursue a sort of like robot AI replacement for their son who is looks sounds and mostly acts like their son. and You know, we've seen stories like this before. we've seen Spielberg's AI Um and it felt like Coreata just did not know what to do with this idea. And the movie is kind of wandering and at times it feels like it is kind of in defense of this particular conceit and it wants to try to have empathy for the parents, but I found the characterization of both of those figures, the mother and the father was like too vague to really get emotionally connected to H You know,ice in the mood didn't look that great and I found that surprising. It had a kind of like payload glow on it that and Korea films usually feel like so kind of gruny and in the real world, you know? He won for shoplifters, which is one of the more beautiful evocations of family and like what you're forced to do when you're in a family And This was just a huge mess. Everybody in the room you could tell similarly it just died. L it just This one, you said I didn't get a chance to see it. and by that, you mean you told me like you really do not have to go see it, go see something else. And there was I met no defenders So I did actually just skip the Cate a movie at Can in competition, which felt a little heretical, but You know? There's no one saying this was a good idea Yeah, it happens, you know, like in any filmmaker's career, like you just you do one and it doesn't work and the for hoti didn't work, the Korereata didn't work. And honestly, Joh Ln in the last interview don't I don't think worked, but for a very specific reason. And so we should talk about it. This is Steven Soorberg's new documentary As much as this is a James Gray podcast, this is a Steven Zber podcast. We love. a Beatles podcast. And a Beatles podcast Until the four movies, in which case it's over Th if' then it's not a podcast anymore So the last interview is A chronicle of the last interview that John Lennon gave to three San Francisco radio hosts in was is it nineteen eighty when he passed? Y In the year that he passed U on the Swn the Day yes, why I didn't want to spoil that I don't. That was actually a revelation to me that he did. Okay sorry.ry. It doesn't matter. It's a known fact in the world But upon the release of Double Fantasy his album with Yoko, Oh, no, no, they both sat for this extended interview with these radio hosts. And so the movie is a kind of chronicle of how they got the interview, how the host pursued it. and there is interviews with all three hosts. And then much of the film is the audio of the conversation between Yoko, Lennin, and these hosts. and it uses a lot of your kind of standard archival music documentary. And a lot of photographs, a lot of, you know speaking over images that we would recall from the period of Lenin and Ono's lives And it's an amazing interview And and both Lenon and Ono spepeak insightfully. I think they have a ton of pions about where culture is going It's interesting to watch them talk about their pasts, their love lives, their their you know, his notions of fatherhood I found to be super interesting. I don't know that I had ever read this interview or heard it before And so in that way, even though there's just frankly too many John Lynon documentaries the text I thought was interesting. Bye. B And we knew this going into the festival Soderberg makes this choice to solve a problem that I have thought about and that I have worked with filmmakers on in making music documentaries, which is what do you do When you don't have enough archival footage to tellell the entirety of a music story because music, of course is an audio art for P' b Sootderberg chose to use AI Anime some of the themes and literal ideas that Lenin is talking about And It's just a fiasco. like it's just a disaster And it's literally it looks like Grock AI images of like you know Very, very obviously not very elegant constructions of these ideas And it's distracting and weird and feels way out of place and kind of torpedo the movie for me A thousand percent. listen. Steven SZderberg is my guy and he likes to try things. and You know, it's everyone can try things once. So If this is the experiment and then it's done, we tried it It didn't work. We move on then I'm okay. But this categorically does not work. And it's not just an ethical AI, you know, don't use AI, you know, replacing like actual filmmakers and humans, all of which I believe, by the way But it's actually in the execution All of the AI descriptions look like what your mom or grandma would produce when typing into like Sora or whatever. I don't even know it exists anymore because I've never done it, but they are so Literal? and it looks so bad. It's a useful case for, hey, actually AI is not a helpful tool in filmmaking because There's there are many bad sequences, but there's one with some cavemen Um and also some like imagined Napoleon battlefield shots where you're just like But what this get past you, Stehven Sodderberg. I mean I gu I guess you were just like committed at this point and were all the other components are just so normal and well handled. So it really sticks out And I agree that it is clearly like an experiment and let's see what this can manifest, and frankly maybe made by a movie who doesn't spend all this time online And if you are online And you see these images, they represent something different. They represent there's the kind of a cheapening of art and if you're not living in that world and frankly, if you're not living in that world, congratulations. That sounds amazing. But if still I am on theline, you know, stillen, if he's not online, he's got a screens saaver and like, you know, and he's seeing what those look like. and this is worse. So I just Vy, very confusing. I guess like we've all learned together that this is not an option. So and maybe that's good. So now we know the technology is not ready This doesn't work. It's not a good idea. We'll all move on U, briefly, I that's going to happen No, I think I was going to take over. and we're going get of jobs and then soon they'll be Skynet and we'll all be dead That's when it nexts going happen Great. briefly speaking of are evenantimize I saw a colony which I was pretty excited about and disappointed me. It's Young Sangg Ho's new movie, who directed a train to Bustan, which is one of the best ombie movies of all time about a train full of zombies. and he is a Like George Romio returns over and over again into zombie storytelling. this new one has a really cool idea Really cool idea which is that the zombies in this film, which there's an outbreak after a scientist develops a kind of concoction that infects people and makes them craz zombies, but they operate as like a hive mind. and he uses the technology after studying ant colonies. And so they operate like ants And so The actual zombie core ideas are very cool in this movie, but the movie features no real characters of interest and totally fine performances and lead and storytelling. and it has like one or two cool actions that pieces, It was a big disappointment because I like you Sangho' movies quite a bit. It did remind me a little bit of another Asian action film that we will talk about South Korean action film that we willll talk about momentarily. I don't know, didid you want to talk about butterfly Jam at all Sure. So this open Director's Fortnite, which is another category here at Can and it's Directed by Kantimir Baligo, who was here at Can with Bean Polle And it stars a lot of actors, you know, Barry Kogan, Harry Melling, Riley Ko and is it explores masculinity and It's like in New Jersey in a particular Circassium, I think, yeah. immigrant community and so I thought that everyone was being a little mean about it because it got really panned, really, really, very early on in the festival It's quite uneven. There is an entire subplot about a teenage wrestler. and and the I didn't there's a lot going on that just doesn't make sense. It looks very nice U, the The good actors aren't bad But You know, this is another one where This is a director who's been to Cann before, who's gotten some acclaim, and so the film's here, but it's not a competition It's not even an uncertain regard, you know, so you kind of know going in, I doubt anyone's super happy Bes Denmark I probably will end up seeing this, but not a very strong perception for that one. Let's talk about the WTF a little bit. and there are different ways to define The WTF films this year We'll first talk about hope which is Na Hong Jin's new film, his first film In ten years that is in competition And you and I attended the Sunday night Black tie, galla Pmiereos Yes at nine hundred and thirty. And and the reason we did that is because there was there was chatter And there was discussion that this could be pom contender And so I said to you If it is, We want to be there in the room for it. You know, We don't want to be next door thirty minutes later in the press gere. You want to you want to Yes. you want to see the standing ovation, you want to see how it's received by the by the people. We haven't really talked about the ovations, but that is very much a thing we can I mean they're really fake. They're like faker than everything else and usually just, you know, people clapping politely while looking at their phones led on by the very hard wororking movie teams who are trying to keep the ovation going for as long as possible. And listen, those people deserve our respect. They do a lot to make this happen. Um But you know, we knew that it was going to be like a high energy action creature movie because we saw a little bit of the footage at Cinemac Con And It came after many days of you know, the inner lives of Europeans and It's just the stream of this festival and every festival And we were like we need we like We need something different. like we need a vibe shift, you know, we just we need some oph And We want to see it on the biggest screen possible. And if it is going to be that exciting thing, we want to be there with people cheering or see if people cheer or see how it plays. And isn't it funny that They're going to do this for all of these fusty people in Texas. And I will say, it was funny that they did this for all these fusty people in Texas. And it was exactly what you just described. It was an incredible change of pace. And if I liked it, it's in part because of that. It was so different from anything else that we had experienced It is hilarious that they put this in competition because it could not be further from a competition movie as we historically understand it. You know, N is a very respected filmmaker. The Waling is a beloved horror movie from twenty sixteen But he's not exactly classy He makes really nasty violent movies and Hope is a massive Michael Bay esque alien invasion thriller. like and features Frankly, some of the most exhilarating action sequences that you'll see this year or really probably this decade, but also features like really bad monster CGI and very little characterization of any human people And it maybe aspires to a couple of social ideas about kind of closed off communities and how we don't understand each other, but like it's not really worthking It's hard to do Yeah. I mean, apparently in all the director in the director's statement, there's like pans to that, you know, like When two communities that don't understand each other Youd like have conflicts. hereere's what happens, but like that's not what the movie is. The movie is a big it's a buguntvie you know, it's a chase movie What's the other community? the alien? The aliens. Yeahah Okay U I mean, sure, they definitely don't understand each other. U because something critical happens to one of the families in the film and that leads to like a series of destructive moments. That is true. A couple things about this movie. Number one, it starts with what? a forty five minute opening peace hunt that is exhilarating and amazing to watch and so exciting and crucially free CGI It is before you see any of the bugs. so builds both like on the dread and the fear, but is also just chasing all around this town, like amazing choreography, really, really exciting. And that got like full applause when it was done, as if like someone were singing an Arya in an opera. like it was Awesome Second thing is there's a moment where Ho Young from Sid Games shows up that is like the room burst into applause.. It was like it was just like rock and roll James Cameron action movie L it. And again, so that's why I'm glad that we made the decision to get dressed up and go see it with all the other people The thing that I knew about this movie going in and that has been billed, and they were there on the red carpet, was that Michael Fastbender, Alicia Vakander and Taylor Russer Taylor Russell are in this movie. How they're used in this movie is not something I knew going in. and I don't want to spoil anything other than to say that it wasn't what I expected. And the moment when I realized that that was what was happening, I was like, Oh Okay, so this is the kind of movie that this is going to be. Also You realize that about an hour and a half in. you kind of keep waiting, you keep waiting. This is a long movie. It is two hours forty minutes. It is really, really long I don't know if it needs to be that long Yeah, there's a, you know Here's what I'll say. One, I had a really good time I really enjoyed it. I think it is very flawed and that's okay. Most movies like this are. I'm a Michael Bay fan. I'm a fan of the Erector set filmaking and there's some extraordinary production design in this movie in terms of creating the chaos. The only thing that really feels like CGI all des time are the aliens. Everything else feels deeply real in this kind of burned out, like post apocalyptic presumably Korean setting, but actually Na was sort of being playful when saying like, is this movie even s on Earth? I didn't say it was. So there's something kind of funny about that too. Okay. I mean yeah, some incredible science corners for everyone on the movie is widely seen Yes. And I think it's coming out this summer. And so we'll talk about it again You know, it looks like it's unfinished effectively. The CGI is not not quite clean and click yet. There There are moments where it's very bad And then also, as you said, it's just too long. And I'm a little reluctant to levy that criticism too often on the shows. I like long movies and I want filmmakers to be able to stretch out, but this is a rolllicking action movie. It's not a personal drama. And unlike say, the Hamaguchci movie, like you don't get to the third hour of the film and feel like, oh, well wow This patience's really paid off. It's just a series of action sequences over and over and over again. So I actually think they would do really well to cut about twenty minutes out of the movie and it would really help the movie Yeah. I still had a great time fascinating to watch The stuffy Eures in the room be utterly baffled by it I mean, and that is a little bit of the genius of The Canne Film Festival. To your point, it's really, really funny that this was in competition and got a gala premiere. And it's maybe coloring like the reception of from those stuffy people and from everyone saying, oh, this shouldn't be in competition, but also brings a lot of att attention to the festival and the movie and its own way. It's very savvy. Like, you gott to make moments.. There are many different ways to make moments and this was A really funny moment Yeah, I felt this immediately after the screen. I woke up the next morning. I was like, I'm so glad we came for this. Like that was just it was just really a lot of fun. Also in WTF, One of the highlights of the festival for me was getting a chance to see the Devils, which is Ken Russell's long, simmering, but difficult to watch masterpiece starring Oliver Reed and Vanessa Redgrave about a real life Um French city Lou Don in the I don't want to get their century wrong. I'll say sixteenth century, but I think that wass wrong. That goes absolutely appe shit. and the movie which was released by Warner Brrosers was considered an absolute scandal at the time, features some Um wildly progressive and some considered Anti Christian imagery, extremely violent and sexual And it's like one of the masterpieces of the nineteen seventies. I'd seen the movie before, but I'd never seen this director's cut, which Russell helped to oversee before he passed away. The screening itself was amazing. It was one of the absolute toughest tickets I can. I was very lucky to score a ticket thanks to a friend And it's the first project from Clockwork, which is this new imprint that Warner Brothers has just launched. They're producing the new Sean Baker film They also announced some other news that they're producing the next Park Chain Wookke film, which apparently they picked up here at Market during Cann. U and They're also distributing Th Warner Bothers, this nineteen seventy three all time classic that has just very rarely been seen And even in the screening, I would say ninety percent of the people who were there had never seen it before they raised their hands beforehand during an introduction with Marker Mode, the incredible British critic who I got to spend a little bit of time with, which was also a real highlight for me because he's such an icon And yeah, the movie was extraordinary. I'd only seen it on a shitty DVD and u It just took my breath away and was hilarious in many ways. and the sequence that was missing from the original cut of the movie has been put back in, at least one sequence that I can tell that was U shocking and fun And u I hope people get a chance to watch it when it comes to movie theaters in October in the United States, which is a very cool thing the clockwork is doing Okay, I let's talk about the unknown. Arthur Ferrari is the co writer of Anatomy of a Fall and Justin Tree iss life partner and he has made Quite a hilarious new film up about transransubstantiation, a Kafkaasque story of what happens when you fuck a stranger. not in a club basemment Yeah, Sine a Club basement, notot fuck a stranger in the ass as announced in the Big Labowski, but literally have sexual intercourse with the person you don't know who is Perhaps haunted by some sort of demon force and allows that sexual act to then transpose your soul and brain into another person Yeah Well, I guess it's not it's not very specific about what is being transferred. And right? And that's the expliration is what is What is the self? and what part of the self remains and what part of the self is trapped in Leasidu's body U Real head scratcher of a movie, kind of pretty effective, I thought. I thought very unnerving and upsetting a real downbeat difficult European film you know, shades of David Lynch U shades of Bonwell. I what Not a fun hang of a movie. Leis Su has twenty five lines of dialogue over a two and a half hour film. She's the star Um She's always good, but she is not given too much to play here Dar I find myself enjoying kind of unpacking the idea, but also this is a movie that people are like, this is a one star disaster. So you know, your mileage may vary on the unknown That was silly. goodood premise, right? And you and I have had a lot of fun, you know, arguing the specifics of it and its repercussions and what it's even trying to say about The morals or ethics of having sex with a stranger in a club basement U I I'm not sure what I learned, you know, which is maybe that's a little on me for not fully emotionally investing. I will say it didn't really capture my you kind of almost warned me off it because you're like it's not an Aanda movie and it's really grim and a tough hang and I guess maybe I was just tired, but I didn't find it that difficult to watch. Like again, I thought we were setting up for something really messed up and instead it was just kind of You know, what if What if you could fuck your way into someone else's body It's unpleasant for sure. Okay, let's Let's ping for some European Okay excursions We briefly mentioned bititter Christmas Pedro Almadovar's new film, which is already open here in Europe, but has not come to the United States yet And Another movie that through like an hour and a half, I was like, wow, what a fiasco. And then in the last fifteen minutes I was like Delightful. abbsolutely terrific. the terrific and I don't I kind of don't want to say anything else about it because it would almost ruin what I think I think was in part the design of the film which is all about inspiration and where Medovar takes his ideas from and the experien he witnesses in real life and the way that that continues to become a part of his art U But just an absolutely hysterical final fifteen minutes of this movie that I really enjoy. Yeah. you know, also has Once again, like a perfect apartment and I'm wondering now whether I should cut my hair to the length of the main character. you know, it has it has all of the Al Modover style and a lot of wit. And knowing this as well, which I appreciated. But yeah, we won't spoil the ending. I was pro Yeah, I was back working in his native Spain after making an American feature and some shorts in the English language. and it's just very comfortable clearly working with these a bunch of actors that he's worked with before are Barbara Lenney And so I would definitely recommend that one. Yeah I didn't see the beloved though. you did. I did. And I paired it here with Bter Christmas for a couple of reasons. It is also a Spanish film directed by Rod Vugo, Sargoyan and stars Havi Arbard M U And I can best describe it as normy Spanish sentimental value It is Javierobertem plays a filmmaker who is making a film Set on the Canary Islands, which is also where part of Bter Christmas is filmed. We see the tourism jeep in both and He casts his daughter, his adult daughter who he doesn't have much a relationship with in this film that he is making. And so then it is about the exploration of their relationship and and and making a film and art and what you can mean to each other as parents or as directors and she's an actress. I mean, it opens with a scene in a restaurant just like the scene in Sentimental Vallue when Stun Garsgard gives her Ronta Runsy the script and it's like, I want you to star in this. It's much longer. I found that cinematography to be very obnoxious. There's one really great set piece, like a making of a movie set piece Uh that 're movie if you're a movie nerd you get really into it. and it's funny and then it becomes like very emotional and It's like I mean, it's not the silent film scene from Babylon, but it's kind of encapsulates it all. and I was really excited by that scene and that performance. I always like Javier Bardem. So I was I termed by this You know Okay, I'm going to check it out Unfortunate against it here. I get it's normy, said Meno Value, but you know I'm a Normi, I guess U, Okay, tell us about a woman's life in gentle Monster Yes, spepeaking of the inner lives of Europeans and or women who cannot have it all. So a woman's life is directed by Charlene Bourgeois Tee. And it is about A. A woman of a certain age who is a surgeon And is She's working and she's living and she's trying to figure out how much she wants to work and how much she wants to live and them She meets someone else and explores love. And then then that also kind of recombobulates how much she wants to work and how much she wants to live It was fine. It wasn't bad. There were a few things that make me made me chuckle including at one moment when you know, because she's a surgeon and so they're moving, there's a lot of administrative headache, which I thought was portrayed well. It can be annoying when people when you're managing stuff and people are't doing whatever. But she just yells the dentists are stealing our supplies. And I have thought about that a lot. just out of context. It's funny You're an Otherwise as always. Well sure, but the dead has come in and they're stealing her supp plus It's not nice And I met a lovely listener here who said that the movie is divided into chapters. And one of the subtitles was essentially having it all. And this lovely listener was like, I thought of you, Amanda, as soon as it said having it all. So I guess that is my influence., but, you know, this this to me is representative of the the canon really in any film festival trend of this is a successful set in France. And so we're going to have a certain number of movies starring French actter is about French, about like the lives inner or outer of Europeans. That's fine, you know, everybody's got to do what they're going to do The other Gentle monster It is written and directed by Marie Krzer who made Corsage which we both really liked And this one stars Leia Seu And I thought that and it's about it's another movie about the lives of French people. In this case, Leis Saydux plays a French mom. U T Husband is arrested within the first fifteen minutes on charges of Um child pornography, sales or ' a you know whatever is going on in that world that I don't really want to know anything about. So it is really grim and tough because it's what is this mom going to do? as her husband is accused of and goes through the system for these absolutely heinous tards and it It doesn it, I mean, it obviously doesn't show anything, but it's like it is like grim. It uses doesn't shy away from the subject matter U It makes you feel really bad. It also does the thing of um de If you are It's the opposite of Fjord where it like really kind of makes things very clear to you. You don't wonder what's going on. Everyone, but Leia Sedu seems to have figured out what's going on So You just feel real bad. There's a hair brained plot involving the investigator. that is maybe trying to teach us something again about how, you know women have to deal with men's imperfections and U and are always at a disadvantage, but that doesn't work at all And I thought it was kind of trashy, honestly. Like I think it tries to get to some sort of revelation beyond the Hllmark movie of it all He But it doesn't And once again, Leia Sidu doesn't really get that much to do except to cry Ohh, I guess She's kind of theork She's like a Bjork S pop star artist. so that's cool. Again, there's a lot going on in this movie. None of it adds up to anything. Catherine Denov Bingo, once again, the she's the mom, a concert pianist of her own. It's like it's messy Um, it is provocative but doesn't deliver and as also feel bad because it's about pedophilia. So to everyone, but no I skipped this one. Yeah. And there's a couple of other movies that we haven't seen yet or haven't seen it at all. We both missed Mulan, which is Lazla Nemis' new film. We missed Garancece, which is a new Adelex Aroppolis movie, which I'm actually kind of interested in and I read some revs of it that that sounded intriguing to me. I'm still here for a couple more days, so I'll be seeing Lucas Du' Coward film L Bola Negra, which is a Spanish movie that is generating some buzz that premieres tomorrow And the man I love, which is Iris Saxs's new film and one of the only other American films here at the festival. We did see Adon, which I thought was a very good A portrait of Richard Adon, the famed fashion photographer U And Ron Howard directed it and he was here at camp and presented the movie at our screening. and Pretty like standard but comprehensive and this is now the third consecutive documentary that Howard has made after Pavarati and Jim Henson idea man where I'm like Im glad I watched that. Learn a lot prettyty went down easy, thoughtful, really good interviews. He kind of got everyone that you would want to hear from, I would say. mayaybe with the exception of I went to work U And yeah, I thought it was effective Yeah, also, you know, that's one where you have enough archival to to work with. I mean, there's, I mean there are a lot of in is an addvant one. Yeah. Yes, exactly, which is really helpful. But you could just you cana do look at photographs for a long time. And there are no AI cavemen. so thumbs up That was a relief. Okay, let's do some brief predictions here. Okay. Gut check based on everything you've seen and heard. What do you think is winning the Palm door I'm gonna to zag because I think the jury might sag and I think it's going to be the The Hmaguchi Okay, That's interesting Hamaguchi did not win for Drive My carar in twenty twenty one And that was considered a bit of a snub at the time and the film went on to have this incredible run where it got nominated for best picture at the Academy where it' still of wildest best picture nobbs in the history of the Oscars U Park Chin Look is the jury president And so I am certainly wondering if We are all playing the game wrong somehow. One of the reasons why people thought Hope was had a chance to potentially win the palm before anyone saw it is because A you know N is also a South Korean filmmaker It's a genre movie. Um I think I'm gonna I am going pivot my prediction to Minotaur now because of o That's where the Just the murder the murder plot quality of it, you know, that comes from that story. that. You know, it's a movie that has like some stuff in common with decision to leave And so I don't know how, you know aggressed Park is going to be. To me, it really does feel like it's between Fjord and this movie. Maybe maybe something like L Bolenegra like breaks through near the end of the festival too.s that's also a possibility. But I like that you're predicting all of a sudden, and I'll go officially with Minotur. But frankly,ot I'm rooting for Fjord this Wh are this is like F one and best picture all over again. It is Why are you doing this? Why are you doing this Well, because I just can't help but overthink these things, you know? Okay So then the Grand Prix, what do you think is going to win the second place prize U let's see Oh I'll go with Cord O there in all of a sudden And fewer Sentimental value won the Grand Prix last year, right So different movies. I guess I'm just being, you know, too Scandinavian here, but They they could occupy a similar spot for me. G a jury prie And that's just for the one you could see that going to hope Have a little fun. Well, that would be fun. That would be fun. Yeah Okay I'll get on board with you on that. Yout have to Lets write something else, asker That's best No. I think that's I don't know I don't know. I don't even know what else could possibly be contending That's the thing is when you've got this situation where you've got Club kid and you've got TH sex and death and campiasma, those movies are not up for these prizes. You know, Samamand the prisoner is not up for those prizes Um think I'll stick with hope on the jury prize. That would just be really funny if that happens. Best director Pubkanssk see it Right? Yeah. it's currently I checked this morning and it's still leading the Father Lin is still leading the Cann critics poll, which is very unscientific for a number of reasons. It is. but it is indicative typically of prize winners. He's very admired as a filmmaker So that feels like feels like where it's going. Okay, actor and actress. thoughts I have you throw some out But hereere's my gut right now It'll be Triver and actor for Paper Tiger Interesting. G Maybe Lest they do for the unknown as an acknowledgement of her contributions here. Yes, you know that feels like something that could happen Yeah, I can see Hooler is also possible for Fatherland. C see that as well But I know, I think director and then, you know, they this festival is proud of its French ors and actress and I know that the jury is separate There are a lot of Americans on the jury. Have you been following the jury fashion competition at all? I haven't They're really using this to debut their looks. They're spending a lot of time and money, the women at least. That's good. I like it I you know, Lia to put in the work, even if it didn't deliver. She's she's doing her best Has she ever One I know she's one best up and coming actress. I don't know if she's ever w best actress that Can I don' think so. something to keep in mind. I could be wrong about that. Okay, last prize is best screenplay I mean, I'd really like for it to be James Gray for Paper Tiger . So It's a wish casting thing U Shing can happen ly happen Best scene I think you should get. There's a scene at the end of the movie that is Unreal That is is I don't want to spoil it, it is amazing Um who's winning un certain regards new sex and death or p kid opkin. You think every know I don't know don't know 's very American Sure And it's not been an American festival, but We were remarking after Paper Tiger. And this this was the first week. The end of the first week was Paper Tiger. But the three titles that people were most excited about were Cem my asthma. Club kid and Paper Tiger, the American films in a very un American film festival. So you know, things things have loosened up a bit. and But it's a different jury for uncertain regard And It's the, you know My asthma is definitely more mainstream than any of the other films, but there's just kind of something irresistible. Club Kid you just settle right in. and It's irresistible Any thoughts on the camera door, the best first film prize. See that S to me? like you could go cam My Asme for un certain regarding, the camera door you could go to Fman That feels like a way to kind of split the baby to the juries You collaborate in that way Is there like backroom dealing? because I don't can go for many I'm but a but a a naive first timer here at Camp. so I haven' haven't dug into the rules. What do you think? you think it's going You think it's going to split? Yeah, I mean, maybe it'll be something completely different. you know, it could be a movie that we're not It could be Mab andegra, it could be somethingomet that's completely different. you know, like we didn't mention like Rami Malk, people seem to think has a chance for best actor here. We haven't I haven't seen an Iris Sax film yet but he's he's the star of the man I love So there's still some things to be played out. I think at this time Two years ago, Anora had not yet premiered at the festival so it's like we feel like we're recording late, but there's still a lot of festival to go. So it' a little it's impossible to be accurate with these predictions. Also who knows it's all based on the jury's not It's not a point scoring system. It's what is how do Danny Moore and Park Chain Wilk speak to each other on this jury? I genuinely don't know I hope that I hope I would like to know. yeah. Yes. I would too. Oscar implications, we should at least briefly mention this because coming out of last year I think, I mean, north of ten films that premiered or north of ten nominations from films that premiered at the Kenn Film Festival hit last year, including the bulk of the international feature slate. Tw movies in Best Picture, multiple acting categories, multiple screenplay nominations You know, that included, it was just an accident, Sentimental Value, The seecret agents, Sirat. There were a number of movies here last year that really made their way into the award season K kind of interested to see if that's the case this year. There is a part of me that thinks that like maybe not a lot of these movies make it end and maybe only one or two based on what I've seen so far. What do you think Well, they've revamped international a bit this year, notot as much as we would like, but that There can be multiple submissions from a single country if they win a prize at a festival. If they won a prize. Oh, right. So who did we who did we predict in this We predicted Fjord or Mitur ye like if Hamaguchci wins a prize here, you could Japan could could or I don't know, maybe France would I maybe all of a sudden it is considered a French film And so France could have two submissions Be a stallen. This the w wing prize here Yeah, but but it is also that this is a year where Aside from the French films, we're seeing like, you know, one from each country. So it's like it's maybe moot at least in the can lineup. I don't know. I think, you know, Fjord for sure, because it has those recognizable u Hollywood or Hollywood crossover stars U you've I' so mad about Minotur, but it does seem like It will It'll break through and it has enough in, you know common with movies that people are familiar with to be like, oh, sure I'll check out this version. It's been a while since there's been like a big Russian breakthrough. That' that hasn't been super strong in recent years Yeah. I mean, it does feel like All of the all of the autors who made like deccent to good movies. so Papakkowski for Fatherland and James Gray for Paper Tiger and you know, Hamaguchi for all of a sudden will be in the conversation because they have name recognition from previous films And it's almost like it's the The ghosts of Camp Pass doing the work in order to let these through U I don't I can't tell what any surprises would be yet, but again There's more can to go and there are more movies to go Yeah, and you gott to go. You got to you got to go to your train. Yeah, you gott to come with me, actually. Yeah we're gonna carry you some bags. You're going to Paris. I'm going to see more movies. Are you happy that we made this happen I really am. Thank you. Thank for thank you for doing this with me U I'll say that off mic too, but I'm very grateful. And it was really fun. And I want to come back. Also thanks to everyone we met who listens and who said hello, It' really, really nice. You guys are all very cool and international and I'm not sure why you need to hear from two people podcasting from their apartment. but appreciate it. It was wonderful to meet everybody It was so sweet how everyone was like, this is your first can. They were like they were excited for us. they seem to know that. I know it was really nice. It's been very special to just wait in line and hang out and talk to people. And that's one thing I do love about going to film festivals is is just kind of making new friends every day and connecting with people and just talking movies all day. It's a really, really lucky thing for us And you know, as always, me and you we always travel well together. We had a lot of fun That's good. It was great. So see you next year Yeah,'ll see we'll see, M. I want to say thank you to Jack Sanders, our producer and Lucas Kavanaugh and Sarah Redy for being up at Ungodly hours to record this episode because we are in Europe Thank you to all three of them for helping us arrange this. If this episode doesn't look that good, I'm sorry, this is the best that we could do. That's really all I have to say about it. We will be back next week. You will return from Europe as will I, and we will go see the Mandalorian and Grogu with our children and we'll take time together And you know, early word, not strong I'll say But you know, you never know? Star Wars could be back not be back We'll talk about it all next week on the bigig picture. Thank you for spending this time with us at Cann. We'll see you very soon