Deep Cut: A Film Podcast – Détails, épisodes et analyse

In this episode, we’re laughing and crying to the sweet melodies of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2008 film Tokyo Sonata, and its social commentary on the Japanese nuclear family in the midst of a financial crisis. 

We explore the film’s construction of a patriarchal nuclear family, discuss Kyoko Koizumi’s unique role as the mother of the family (taking care of all her boys), and go long on her wild narrative journey in the film’s second half with a surprising supporting actor… Eli finds parallels in Kurosawa’s choices with classic films like King Vidor’s The Crowd and Fritz Lang’s Metropolis, Wilson highlights Kurosawa’s selective cinematographic change-ups, and Ben shares some behind the scenes discoveries of the film’s making.

Links: 

• Behind the scenes DVD feature

• NYFF Q&A with Kiyoshi Kurosawa

• Interview with Kiyoshi Kurosawa and actors Teruyuki Kagawa and Kyoko Koizumi

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Unlock the forbidden recording room with Wilson, Ben and Eli as the trio unpack Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2001 ghost film Pulse. Eli explains his love for his deep cut pick of a film that breaks its own rules and complicates its horror elements. Wilson zeroes in on his love for Kurosawa’s use of space and production design to bring on a feeling of despair for viewers. Ben heralds Kurosawa as a prophet of how computer usage makes us feel in our current era.

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Bon appetit! The DC Trio are in for a treat this week as we savor Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary, MENUS PLAISIRS - LES TROIGROS, a scrumptious looking film about three French restaurants, and the family that runs it. From the bustling kitchen to the tense moments shared between members of the Troigros dynasty, the trio immerses themselves in this four-hour culinary exploration. Ben and Eli ponder the central question of the work and Wilson finds a strong appreciation of Wiseman’s perspective on the food industry.

MENUS PLAISIRS - LES TROIGROS is out now in theaters. A big thank you to the folks at Zipporah Films for helping make this happen.

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The DC Trio takes a plunge into a new director and dives into the works of Marilou Diaz-Abaya, one of the leading figures of the second golden age of Filipino cinema. In the first episode, Wilson shares his love for a national cinema that is deeply tied to his roots. What better way to be introduced to Pinoy cinema than through a biopic of one of the nation's most infamous historical figures? Eli's intrigue in José Rizal's life and his choices add to the discussion, while Ben brings his own perspectives with nostalgic "watched this in class" vibes from the flick.

What is your deep cut historical biopic? Let us know on our discord server! Find our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.deepcutpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

With special guest and friend Thanmye Lagudu we come together to crown a new king. Mani Ratnam completes his magnum opus with Ponniyin Selvan: Part II and we're back in the theatre again for more palace intrigue, romantic entanglements, and some of that signature Ratnam flair. Can Ratnam one-up himself with part two? We discuss PS2's visual glow-up, the challenges of adapting a literary classic, and bicker about who put in a better performance: Vikram or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan?

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Follow Thanmye on ⁠Letterboxd⁠ and ⁠Twitter⁠. Read his essay on PS2 here.

As part of his coverage for HKIFF 2023, Wilson interviews Japanese director Daishi Matsunaga, a day after the Hong Kong premiere of his new film, Egoist. Director Matsunaga talks about the film's moving story, the specific visual language he uses, his thoughts on iPhone footage, and so much more. A massive thank you to dear friend of the pod Fumiko Nago for helping interpret this interview. Films discussed in the interview: Egoist - dir. Daishi Matsunaga Hanalei Bay - dir. Daishi Matsunaga Call Me By Your Name - dir. Luca Guadagnino The Son - dir. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne Sweating the Small Stuff - dir. Ryutaro Ninomiya Find our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.deepcutpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

As Cannes wraps up in the South of France, we bring you a dispatch from another festival halfway across the world. An exhausted Wilson joined Ben and Eli in the middle of his festival marathon to dish about the movies he saw at this year’s Hong Kong International Film Festival, and talk about the experience of officially covering a festival for the podcast for the first time! Includes interviews with top Hong Kong directors Soi Cheang and Ann Hui.

Check out Wilson's full HKIFF list here.

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Films/Sections Previewed: A City of Sadness (4K Restoration) - dir. Hou Hsiao Hsien Plan 75 - dir. Chie Hayakawa Juzo Itami Retrospective New Blood - dir. Soi Cheang Egoist - dir. Daishi Matsunaga Stars at Noon - dir. Claire Denis Sparta - dir. Ulrich Seidl Our Body - dir. Claire Simon Saint Omer - dir. Alice Diop A Still Small Voice - dir. Luke Lorentzen A Holy Family - dir. Elvis Lu in water - dir. Hong Sang Soo Tótem - dir. Lila Avilés Dust of Angels (4K Restoration) - dir. Hsu Hsiao-ming

Rise. Roar. Revolt. Review. Here it is. Our long awaited Deep Cut Upkeep episode on the S.S. Rajamouli worldwide phenom RRR, and it’s a doozy. Hear the Deep Cut Trio talk about why Rajamouli’s brand of action filmmaking has entranced audiences, and why Ben and Wilson have this film at the top of their 2022 year end lists, while Eli explains why he prefers Rajamouli’s previous outings. Most importantly, they discuss the important and dangerous imagery and narrative co-opting that Rajamouli deploys in this film, and how it is used to fuel the fire of right wing Hindu nationalists in India.

Read Ritesh Babu’s writeup on RRR.

Read Wang Bing’s State of Cinema 2022 writeup:

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Another year has wrapped production, and the production assistants are here to clean up! Just in time for the 2023 Oscars, Ben, Wilson, and Eli mop up the mess left by superheroes and conductors, stop motion shells and Na’vi, interdimensional travelers and cannibals, mourners and partiers. By breaking down the year’s big trends–– directors fictionalizing their autobiographies, Marvel sinking slowly, rich filmmakers attempting to pillory wealth inequality–– the Deep Cut trio gets a handle on what made 2022 so weird. The boys get personal, too, talking about the movies and moments from last year that shaped who they are as moviegoers and friends. Finally, each co-host’s coveted top 3 films of the year are revealed… 

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Movies discussed on this episode:
Aftersun (dir. Charlotte Wells)
Ambulance (dir. Michael Bay)
Armageddon Time (dir. James Gray)
Autobiography (dir. Makbul Mubarak)
Avatar the Way of Water (dir. James Cameron)
Babylon (dir. Damien Chazelle)
Banshees of Inisherin (dir. Martin McDonagh)
Bardo, False Chronicles of a Handful of Truths (dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu)
The Batman (dir. Matt Reeves)
Benediction (dir. Terrence Davies)
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (dir. Ryan Coogler)
Bones and All (dir. Luca Guadagnino)
Broker (dir. Kore-eda Hirokazu) - Listen to our Kore-eda episode here.
The Cathedral (dir. Ricky D’Ambrose)
A Couple (dir. Frederick Wiseman) - Find our episode on this here, and our interview with Wiseman here!
Crimes of the Future (dir. David Cronenberg)
Decision to Leave (dir. Park Chan-wook)
Deep Water (dir. Adrian Lyne)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (dir. Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert, a.k.a. The Daniels)
The Fabelmans (dir. Steven Spielberg)
Fire Island (dir. Andrew Ahn) - Find our episode on this here. Girl Picture (dir. Alli Haapasalo) Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (dir. Rian Johnson) Hit the Road (dir. Panah Panahi) Il Buco (dir. Michelangelo Frammartino) Joyland (dir. Saim Sadiq) Leila’s Brothers (dir. Saeed Roustayi) Low Tide: A Newly Restored Work by Thomas Wright (dir. George Matthews) Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (dir. Dean Fleischer Camp) Memoria (dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul) The Menu (dir. Mark Mylod) No Bears (dir. Jafar Panahi) Nope (dir. Jordan Peele)
The Northman (dir. Robert Eggers) The Novelist’s Film (dir. Hong Sang-soo)
Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (dir. Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson)
Ponniyan Selvan Part 1 (dir. Mani Ratnam) - Find our episode on this here.
Return to Sender (dir. Russell Goldman) - Watch Russell's short here!
Return to Seoul (dir. Davy Chau)
RRR (dir. S. S. Rajamouli) - Our extended coverage on this here!
Small, Slow But Steady (dir. Sho Miyake)
Tár (dir. Todd Field)
Teenage Emotions (dir. Frédérick Da)
The Territory (dir. Alex Pritz)
To My Nineteen-Year-Old Self (dir. Mabel Cheung & William Kwok Wai-Lun)
Top Gun Maverick (dir. Joseph Kosinski)
Trenque Lauquen (dir. Laura Citarella)
Triangle of Sadness (dir. Ruben Östland)
Under the Fig Trees (dir. Erige Sehiri)
The Whale (dir. Darren Aronofsky)
When the Waves Are Gone (dir. Lav Diaz)
White Noise (dir. Noah Baumbach)
The Worst Person in the World (dir. Joachim Trier)

2022 TV Mentions:
Better Call Saul (created by Vince Gilligan & Peter Gould)
Irma Vep (created by Olivier Assayas) The Rehearsal (created by Nathan Fielder)

We conclude our series on Miranda July's filmography with her divisive sophomore feature, The Future. Tune in for a feisty episode where Ben tries desperately to defend his deep cut choice while Eli and Wilson have their limits tested by July's storytelling tendencies.

See the future in our free Patreon, discord server, and all our links @ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.deepcutpod.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠