The Last Thing I Saw

Jane Campion’s new film The Power of the Dog first shapes up as a kind of Western family feud in the making. Two brothers, Phil and George Burbank, run things together peaceably, with Phil (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) the alpha male, and George (played by Jesse Plemons) more of a strong silent type. When George gets married and brings home his wife, Rose (Kirsten Dunst), and her son (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Phil gets all bent out of shape, and it becomes apparent that he’s keeping something secret in his private life, which the film slowly unravels. Campion filmed The Power of the Dog in New Zealand with her cinematographer Ari Wegner, whose previous films include Zola and Lady Macbeth. I spoke with them together to learn about their collaborative process and how they get into the right state of mind for creating the breathtaking film in pre-production. It was a pleasure just to bask in the flow between Campion and Wegner, who at times completed each other’s thoughts. The Power of the Dog opens in limited release on November 17 and is available on Netflix starting December 1. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. A while back I had a conversation with critic Nicholas Russell about the portrayal of law enforcement in movies. The general idea was that the demonstrations and marches for justice in 2020 seemed to open the possibility of a paradigm shift on many fronts. So we looked at movies featuring the police and thought about the different assumptions about culture, about society, about genre, that go into making and watching them. How does Training Day look today, 20 years on, or the 1970s drama Report to the Commissioner? What about the bizarro alternate justice system of Minority Report? Russell and I talked about a range of movies from different perspectives, without any grander goal than reflecting on what exactly is going on in each of them. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This year marks the 20th anniversary of David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, a movie that has never been too far from best-of lists. But Inland Empire, Lynch’s three-hour digitally shot follow-up, which came out five years later, has sometimes gone overlooked. So it was great news to hear that the critic Melissa Anderson has devoted an entire new book to the movie, voyaging into its nightmarish depths. Anderson, who’s the film editor at 4 Columns, takes the opportunity to appreciate the unique qualities of Laura Dern and her multi-film collaboration with Lynch. Anderson joined me for this special episode, which partly found me in recovery mode after the movie’s haunted story about an actress who finds herself in emotional freefall and all kinds of uncharted territory while shooting a new movie. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Right at the tail end of the New York Film Festival, I caught up with Jon Dieringer, editor and publisher of Screen Slate. We talked about highlights from the festival and also some terrific titles shown in a Screen Slate series at the Roxy Cinema that helped kick off the moviegoing season for a lot of New York movie-lovers. Jon has worked for years as an archivist so he also shares his expertise and opinion on how movies make their way through repertory and into film history, as well as a lovely anecdote about the late, great filmmaker Sarah Maldoror, director of Sambizanga among others. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Todd Haynes’s documentary about The Velvet Underground is not just a musical feast, as one would expect, but it’s also a visually rich and polyphonic work. Haynes has explored the mythology of glam rock and the many faces of Bob Dylan in his fiction films, and he turns his first documentary into a kind of multichannel installation for the cinema screen, putting Andy Warhol’s Screen Test series of filmed portraits into dialogue with other pictures and people. The movie does the same thing with its sense of history, situating the Velvet Underground in relation to the avant-garde music and arts scene of 1960s New York. I recently spoke with Haynes about his use of Warhol’s films; the role of queerness in the identity of The Velvet Underground and Lou Reed; and which clip became a keystone for the entire film. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The latest feature from Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Memoria, is coming to the New York Film Festival, after premiering in Cannes this past summer. Memoria stars Tilda Swinton as a woman seeking to explain a strange noise that she keeps experiencing and, as you might guess, the movie is a change of pace in some ways for Apichatpong, shooting his first feature in Colombia. In July, I spoke with the critic Giovanni Marchini Camia, the official set chronicler of the making of Memoria. I discussed the making of Memoria with Giovanni, who shared some fascinating insights into Apichatpong’s filmmaking, and we also traded thoughts on what’s new and different about the movie. A book on Memoria, featuring Giovanni's set diaries and much more, is available from Fireflies Press. You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw, with your host, Nicolas Rapold. One of my favorite debuts in a while is El Planeta, directed by and starring Amalia Ulman. She plays a designer who lives with her mother (played by Ulman’s mother) but they’re both going broke. So they’re making ends meet any way they can, which for her mother might include a little light scamming. It’s a movie with many layers, both funny and poignant, about keeping up appearances and about the complicated bond between mother and daughter. In many ways it builds on Ulman’s extensive art practice, which plays with class, identity, fashion, and how we have to present and re-present ourselves to the world. Ulman was raised in Gijón, Spain, where the movie is set, and she's based in New York. I already had the pleasure of interviewing Ulman at length for Screen Slate, and so this time I was able to spend more time than usual talking about the wonderful movies she’s been watching. But first our Zoom conversation was interrupted by a surprise guest... You can support this podcast and read show notes with links at: rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This episode I’m back with highlights from not one but two festivals: The Toronto Film Festival, and the Camden festival, which specializes in documentary. I’m joined by my fearless correspondent Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image. This is another episode where you the listeners can support the production of The Last Thing I Saw. I invite you to show your support and get immediate access. You can do so by going to rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. As promised, this is another episode about notable movies from the Toronto Film Festival, with critic Amy Taubin. It’s also another episode where you the listeners can support the podcast. I’ve recorded over 75 episodes with leading critics and filmmakers. It’s all created with love and care on a weekly basis and sometimes daily, at home and at festivals. The new episode with Amy Taubin is available now to paid subscribers of my substack. So I invite you to show your support and get immediate access. You can do so by going to rapold.substack.com Opening music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This is a special episode of the podcast for a couple of reasons. It introduces a series about notable premieres at the Toronto film festival -- highlights that you’ll want to know about. But it’s also a special episode because it’s a chance for you the listeners to support the podcast. The new episode about Toronto, with curator and critic Eric Hynes, will be followed by one with another beloved regular guest, Amy Taubin. You can support this podcast by subscribing at: rapold.substack.com Music: “Monserrate” by The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass