The Last Thing I Saw

Ep. 149: Bruce Bennett on Skolimowski’s Deep End, Baby Love, Chabrol Freakout, and more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This episode I had a wonderful time talking with the inimitable Bruce Bennett, who’s back on the show with a new garden of cinematic delights. We start with Deep End, a past hit from director Jerzy Skolimowski, who’s enjoying a renaissance with EO. From there, we delve into unsung British rarities from the turn of the 1970s and the wildest Claude Chabrol film you ever did (or did not) see. But wait, there’s more! So much more, in fact, that I will publish the second half of our jampacked chat separately. Stay tuned! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 148: IDFA #2 with Julian Ross: Manifesto, Documentary on Stage, and more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. To discuss another sampling of the slate at IDFA (the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), I sat down with Julian Ross, a curator and critic based in Amsterdam. Among the works we discuss are a provocative prize-winner, Manifesto; a live multimedia work, Between Nothingness and Infinity, I Began to Weep; Rea Tajiri’s Wisdom Gone Wild; and a special medium-length pick. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 147: Eric Hynes on IDFA 2022: Apolonia, Apolonia and beyond! Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Every year I take in a new crop of nonfiction films from around the world at IDFA (the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam). Many of them will wend their way to festivals, theaters, and streaming, and I’m happy to select a few highlights with Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image, who is also a regular IDFA attendee. Among the films we discuss is the top prize-winner of the international competition: Apolonia, Apolonia, which was 13 years in the making. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 146: Fun City with Margaret Barton-Fumo and Jonathan Hertzberg, from Morvern Callar to Heartbreakers Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Critic and ol’ pal Margaret Barton-Fumo clued me in on the Fun City Editions label, founded and run by Jonathan Hertzberg. It’s a Blu-ray and music imprint with a particular penchant for 1980s movies that have fallen through the cracks over the years—such as Heartbreakers, starring Peter Coyote, or Cutter’s Way, with Jeff Bridges and John Heard—as well as other fine films such as Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar (which by coincidence I recently introduced at the Roxy Cinema). We talk about all of these titles, plus others, and at the end, Jonathan and Margaret (who hosts the show No Pussyfooting on kpiss.fm) have some cool recent viewing to share. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 145: Elvis Mitchell on Is That Black Enough for You?!? Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Elvis Mitchell is a critic I read early on in my career, and with this episode, I was delighted to talk with him about his new movie, Is That Black Enough for You?!? Mitchell’s essay film is a rich and multilayered history of Black cinema, full of insights on micro and macro levels. We talked about the movie and follow the threads of his inspirations and ideas, which trace influences across film and music and crosscurrents in society and culture. He also relates encounters with Harry Belafonte and other luminaries that influenced his thinking. Our conversation took place during the New York Film Festival, where his film premiered, and at times reminded me of the flow of the movie itself. Is That Black Enough for You?!? starts streaming on November 11 on Netflix. Elvis Mitchell has been the host of KCRW's The Treatment since its creation in 1996. During that time, he has served as a film critic for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and The New York Times, and hosted the TV series "Elvis Goes There" on Epix and "Elvis Goes There" for Turner Classic Movies. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 144: She Said, Women Talking, Aftersun, Catherine Called Birdy with Alissa WIlkinson Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week for the first time on the podcast I talk with Alissa Wilkinson, who is senior culture reporter and critic at Vox as well as an associate professor of English and humanities at The King's College. We talked about some films coming out now, or soon, including She Said, starring Cary Mulligan and Zoe Kazan; Sarah Polley’s Women Talking; Aftersun, Charlotte Wells’s acclaimed debut feature starring Paul Mescal; and Lena Dunham’s medieval comedy Catherine Called Birdy. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 143: Park Chan-wook on Decision to Leave Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave is one of the best films of 2022, hands-down, showing the Korean master at the height of his powers with this dazzling, seductive thriller. I was fortunate enough to sit down with director Park during the New York Film Festival, where Decision to Leave screened, following its world premiere at Cannes in May. We discussed the origin of the story, his filmmaking decisions from the micro to the macro, the casting of Tang Wei and Park Hae-il, his collaboration with the screenwriter Jeong Seo-kyeong, and, naturally, the last film he saw. Special thanks to translator Jiwon Lee, who is also heard on the audio. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Amy Taubin on Eo, Master Gardener, Alcarras, Tar, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Kira Muratova Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the New York Film Festival continues, I spoke with the one and only Amy Taubin about some of its selection of movies assembled from the year’s highlights. She shares her thoughts on a wide range, including Jerzy Skolimowski’s Eo, Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener, Carla Simon’s Alcarras, Todd Field’s Tar, and Laura Poitras’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, plus the long-suppressed work of Kira Muratova. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

White Noise with Christian Lorentzen Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The opening movie of the New York Film Festival was White Noise, which also opened the Venice film festival just a few weeks ago. To grapple with Noah Baumbach’s adaptation of the 1985 Don DeLillo classic, I spoke with the critic Christian Lorentzen about everything from the novel’s place in the literary tradition to the minute details that distinguish the adaptation to what the 1980s look like. White Noise opens later this fall through Netflix. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Toronto 2022 #3: No Bears, Knives Out 2, The People’s Joker, The Menu, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, with Sam Adams Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Toronto International Film Festival showed several more movies worthy of discussion that we hadn’t yet discussed on the podcast, and so I brought on a special guest to wrap things up with his insights: Sam Adams, senior editor of Slate. He shares his thoughts on an array of films including Jafar Panahi’s No Bears, Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (aka Knives Out 2), Vera Drew’s The People’s Joker, Laura Poitras’s All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, and The Menu, directed by Mark Mylod. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass