The Last Thing I Saw

Ep. 236: CPH:DOX 2024 with Mads K. Mikkelsen on Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other, Kix, and much more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For this episode I journeyed to Copenhagen for the 2024 edition of CPH:DOX, and talked about my favorite documentaries from the selection with the festival?s Head of Program Mads K. Mikkelsen. These include films about a Hungarian skateboarder growing up (Kix, directed by Dávid Mikulán and Bálint Révész), about the relationship between photographer Joel Meyerowitz and writer Maggie Barrett (Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other, directed by Jacob Perlmutter and Manon Ouimet), and about Brazilian love motels (Eros, directed by Rachel Daisy Ellis). We also discuss The Limits of Europe (directed by Apolena Rychlíková, featuring journalist Sa?a Uhlová), Balomania (Sissel Morell Dargis), La Base (Vadim Dumesh), Once Upon a Time in a Forest (Virpi Suutari) and the documentary that went on to win the festival?s top prize, The Flats (Alessandra Celesia). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 235: K.J. Relth-Miller on Berlin Retrospectives: Lubitsch, Helke Sander, Carlos Saura, and more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For a number of festivals now, I?ve been fortunate enough to delve into the retrospective selections with programmer K.J. Relth-Miller from the Academy Museum (who also teaches at CalArts). This time we talked about the special Retrospective selections drawn from the Deutsche Kinemathek and films in the Classics section at the Berlinale. We start with Ernst Lubitsch?s 1921 silent comedy Kohlhiesel?s Daughters, which screened with live musical accompaniment, and then move on to later selections such as The Germans and Their Men (1989, Helke Sander), Herzsprung (1992, Helke Misselwitz), Angels of Iron (1980, Thomas Brasch), and Deprisa, Deprisa (1981, Carlos Saura). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 234: Radu Jude on Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I present a chat with Radu Jude, the director of what?s already the most acclaimed movie of the year: Do Not Expect Too Much From the End of the World. The wild, funny, multi-layered movie follows a young production assistant, Angela (the incredible Ilinca Manolache), on her endless days working in Bucharest, Romania. Jude creates a crazy quilt that captures what it?s like to get through the world today, folding in Angela?s hilariously foulmouthed Instagram videos and weaving in clips from a Communist-era 1981 film about a female taxi driver. Nina Hoss and Uwe Boll also have memorable roles. I first saw Jude?s continually surprising film at its world premiere in the Locarno Film Festival, and we spoke on the eve of its U.S. release on March 22. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 233: Christine Smallwood on Chantal Akerman and La Captive Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week a new book on Chantal Akerman by Christine Smallwood enters the world, a volume about Akerman?s wholly original Proust adaptation La Captive that?s the latest in the Fireflies Press series of Decadent Editions focused on films of the 2000s. So I was delighted to speak with Smallwood about Akerman and her film's hypnotic exploration of the strange relationship between a wealthy odd young man Simon (Stanislas Mehrar) and his lover, Ariane (Sylvie Testud), reworking the fifth volume of Proust?s In Search of Lost Time. Note: The episode opens with a passage about La Captive from Smallwood?s book. Smallwood is the author of the novel The Life of the Mind and a regular contributor to publications such as The New York Review of Books, Harper?s, Bookforum and The New York Times Magazine. La Captive will screen March 30 at Metrograph followed by Vertigo, with Smallwood in person. On March 19 at Light Industry, she?ll present an illustrated lecture adapted from her book. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 232: Eric Hynes on First Look and True/False 2024: Flying Lessons, There Was, There Was Not, Knit?s Island, Achilles Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. As I did last year, I joined forces with Eric Hynes, curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image, for a double fest discussion, covering True/False, the Missouri nonfiction festival, and MoMI?s own annual First Look in New York. We discuss titles including: Flying Lessons (directed by Elizabeth Nichols), Magic Mountain (Mariam Chachia & Nik Voigt) Knit?s Island (Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse, Quentin L?helgoualc?h), A Photographic Memory (Rachel Elizabeth Seed), Achilles (Farhad Delaram), Spermworld (Lance Oppenheim), I Like It Here (Ralph Arlyck), Obsolete (Sumira Roy), and There Was, There Was Not (Emily Mkrtichian). Listeners will find that many movies discussed on here and in previous episodes can be seen in First Look at MoMI (March 13 to 17). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 231: Berlin 2024 with Jordan Cronk: Who by Fire, Tu Me Abrasas, Abiding Nowhere, Chime, Direct Action, More Docs Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For the latest episode about the 2024 Berlin Film Festival, I?m pleased to reunite with Jordan Cronk, who helped kick off this year?s series. We round up some vital highlights that hopefully will wend their way to other cinemas: Who by Fire, Philippe Lesage?s prize-winner in the Generation section; Kiyoshi Kurosawa?s mid-length Chime; Ben Russell and Guillaume Cailleau?s Direct Action, winner in the Encounters section; Matías Piñeiro?s Tu Me Abrasas; and Abiding Nowhere, the latest in Tsai Mingliang?s Walker series. Plus some words on the documentaries At Averroes and Rosa Parks (directed by Nicolas Philibert, last year?s Golden Bear winner), Favoriten (Ruth Beckermann), and Intercepted (Oksana Karpovych). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 230: Berlin 2024 with Keva York: Christine Angot?s Une Famille, Spaceman, Berlin Critics? Week Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. I continue my reporting from the 2024 Berlin Film Festival by welcoming my latest guest to the podcast, critic Keva York, who is writing for Reverse Shot and ABC Arts (the Australian Broadcasting Corporation). We discuss the new film from French writer Christine Angot, Une Famille (A Family); the Adam Sandler movie Spaceman, directed by Johan Renck; and two selections from Berlin Critics? Week, An Evening Song for Three Voices (directed by Graham Swon) and the Riar Rizaldi short Notes from Gog Magog. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 229: Berlin 2024 with Jessica Kiang: Dahomey, Pepe, Through the Graves the Wind Is Blowing, The Human Hibernation, The Devil?s Bath Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. I continue my reporting from the Berlin Film Festival 2024 with a grand episode starring Jessica Kiang, who is writing about the Berlinale for Variety and The New York Times. The movies we discuss include: Pepe (directed by Nelson Carlo De Los Santos Arias), Dahomey (Mati Diop), Through the Graves the Wind Is Blowing (Travis Wilkerson, director of Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun?), The Human Hibernation (Anna-Cornudella Castro), and The Devil?s Bath (Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala). Stay tuned for more from Berlin! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 228: Berlin 2024 with Guy Lodge: Hong?s A Traveler?s Needs, Matt and Mara, Suspended Time Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. It?s onward and upward with the Berlin Film Festival 2024, as I join forces with Guy Lodge of Variety and spotlight three movies from this year?s selection which feel differently pivotal for each respective filmmaker: A Traveler?s Needs (directed by Hong Sangsoo and starring Isabelle Huppert), Suspended Time aka Hors du Temps (Olivier Assayas), and Matt and Mara (Kazik Radwanski). Stay tuned for more from Berlin! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 227: Berlin 2024 with Jonathan Romney: Architecton, Cuckoo, La Cocina, No Other Land Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. The Berlin Film Festival continues to roll out some remarkable premieres, and so I sat down with critic Jonathan Romney (Screen Daily) to reflect on a few of them. Movies discussed include: La Cocina (directed by Alonso Ruizpalacios), Architecton (Victor Kossakovsky), No Other Land (from an Israeli-Palestinian collective consisting of Yuval Abraham, Basel Adra, Hamdan Ballal, Rachel Szor), and the batso thriller Cuckoo (Tilman Singer), which comes to U.S. theaters on May 3. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 226: Berlin 2024 with Jordan Cronk: Bruno Dumont?s Empire, The 14-Hour Movie Called Exergue, Henry Fonda for President, The Adamant Girl, Republic Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m chatting all about the wild assortment of movies at the Berlin Film Festival. First up is critic and programmer Jordan Cronk, who takes us through one highly distinctive movie after another: Empire (directed by Bruno Dumont), a 14-Hour movie called Exergue (Dimitris Athiridis), Henry Fonda for President (Alexander Horwath), The Adamant Girl (P.S. Vinothraj), and Republic (Jin Jiang). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 225: MoMA Double: Dave Kehr on Buñuel in Mexico + Joshua Siegel on the 20th To Save and Project Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week's episode is a MoMA Film Department double feature! First I chat with Dave Kehr, curator in MoMA's department of film, about their grand Buñuel in Mexico series, featuring the surrealist maestro?s often underappreciated era, with films such as Los Olvidados, El, Nazarin, and El Gran Calavera. Then Joshua Siegel, curator in MoMA's department of film, joins to discuss To Save and Project, the museum?s annual festival of film preservation, celebrating its 20th anniversary edition. We cover a tantalizing slice of the selection including Bushman (David Schickele), Toute une nuit (Chantal Akerman), Undercurrent (Kozaburo Yoshimura), Blues People (Skip Norman), and shorts by DEVO. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 224: Jordan Cronk on Rotterdam 2024, Cinema Scope, The Iron Claw Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I catch up with critic Jordan Cronk on a number of urgent topics. We discuss the esteemed film magazine Cinema Scope, which just published its final issue, and the vital importance of its work over the past 25 years, thanks to editor Mark Peranson and a host of outstanding contributors. Then Jordan shares highlights from the latest International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), including Grey Bees (directed by Dmytro Moiseiev), Under a Blue Sun (Daniel Mann), Dream Team (Lev Kalman and Whitney Horn), and Swimming Home (starring Chris Abbott, Mackenzie Davis, Ariane Labed, and directed by Justin Anderson), with a few words on the top Tiger Award winner, Rei (Tanaka Toshihiko). Last but not least, Jordan offers his expert evaluation of the wrestling epic The Iron Claw. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 223: Manohla Dargis and Amy Taubin on Sundance 2024 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For my final (?) episode on Sundance Film Festival 2024, I am pleased to present a grand finale with Manohla Dargis, chief film critic of The New York Times, and the inimitable Amy Taubin (who will be filing a report for Screen Slate). They discuss the role of Sundance, what felt different about this year?s edition (and what didn?t), and the question of story. And we discuss a number of films: A Real Pain (directed by Jesse Eisenberg), God Save Texas: Hometown Prison (Richard Linklater), Presence (Steven Soderbergh), Rob Peace (Chiwetel Ejiofor), War Game (Jesse Moss and Tony Gerber), Exhibiting Forgiveness (Titus Kaphar), Black Box Diaries (Shiori Ito), Will & Harper (Josh Greenbaum), and Love Lies Bleeding (Rose Glass). Also included: Porcelain War, Sugarcane, Gaucho Gaucho, Desire Lines, and Freaky Tales, Kneecap, and a special recommendation for cats. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 222: Sundance ?24: Eric Hynes on Union, Sasquatch Sunset, Good One, Eno Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For my latest episode on Sundance Film Festival 2024, I reconvened with Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image. He had seen more movies, I had seen more movies, and so we talked about some highlights: Union (Stephen Maing and Brett Story), Sasquatch Sunset (David and Nathan Zellner), Good One (India Donaldson), Eno (Gary Hustwit), and Nocturnes (Anupama Srinivasan and Anirban Dutta). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 221: Sundance 2024: Jon Dieringer on Presence, Between the Temples, I Saw the TV Glow, A Different Man, It?s What?s Inside, Little Death Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For my latest episode on the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, I sat down in Park City with Jon Dieringer, editor and publisher of Screen Slate. He was making his first trip to the festival and we discussed plenty of movies: Presence (directed by Steven Soderbergh), Between the Temples (Nathan Silver), I Saw the TV Glow (Jane Schoenbrun), A Different Man (Aaron Schimberg), It?s What?s Inside (Greg Jardin), and Little Death (Jack Begert). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com

Ep. 220: Sundance 2024: Alissa Wilkinson on Look Into My Eyes, Girls State, A.I. Docs, Will & Harper, Coup d?Etat Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. For my latest episode on the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, I welcome returning guest Alissa Wilkinson of The New York Times. Films discussed include: Look Into My Eyes (directed by Lana Wilson), Girls State (directed by Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss), a couple of docs about artificial intelligence (Eternal You and Love Machina), Will & Harper (directed by Josh Greenbaum and co-starring Will Ferrell), and Soundtrack to a Coup d?Etat (Johan Grimonprez). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 219: Sundance 2024 with Eric Hynes: Preview, Power, Black Box Diaries Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. January is here and it?s time for the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. To kick off this year?s suite of episodes, I am delighted to join forces again with Sundance stalwart Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image. We discuss the latest edition of the festival, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, and we sample a few films that screened early on. Films discussed include: Power (directed by Yance Ford), Black Box Diaries (Shiori Ito), and Agent of Happiness (Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbo?). Check back for more reports from snowy-but-not-oppressively-so Park City! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 218: Amy Taubin on I Heard It Through the Grapevine, Fellow Travelers, Sundance Past + My Napoleon Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold. It?s time to ring in 2024 with the one and only Amy Taubin! After some thoughts on the challenges of the contemporary film landscape, she talks about I Heard It Through the Grapevine, the elegiac 1982 civil-rights documentary featuring James Baldwin and co-directed by the late Dick Fontaine and Pat Hartley, playing at Film Forum; Too Much Sleep; Fellow Travelers, a dramatic series on Showtime; and remembrances of Sundance highlights past, on the occasion of a Criterion Channel selection from the festival?s history. I also share my experience watching Ridley Scott?s Napoleon in a special format. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 217: Rob Sweeney on Two by Twohy, Cannibal Corpse, The Day the Earth Caught Fire, Locked In, Tom Palazzolo Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold! What better time than the holidays to share my chat with movie pal R. Emmet Sweeney, who produces DVDs and Blu-rays at Kino Lorber. He talks about two films written by David Twohy, Warlock and Grand Tour: Disaster in Time; The Day the Earth Caught Fire, a New York repertory-viewing highlight; and Locked In, viewed on TUBI. But it all begins with praise for the Cannibal Corpse documentary Centuries of Torment, which Sweeney selected as his best film experience of the year in the Metrograph Journal. I chime in with a few words about shorts by Tom Palazzolo. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 216: Beatrice Loayza and Adam Nayman on May December, Zone of Interest, Knock at the Cabin, Fallen Leaves, and more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw with your host, Nicolas Rapold! As we approach the end of the year, I bring together a wonderful pair of critics who have appeared together here before: Adam Nayman (The Ringer) and Beatrice Loayza (The New York Times). In the spirit of the season, I asked them about their favorite movies of 2023, from Todd Haynes?s May December to M. Night Shyamalan?s Knock at the Cabin and Aki Kaurismaki?s Fallen Leaves, and we reflect on Jonathan Glazer?s confronting The Zone of Interest. Adam and Beatrice also share their favorite first watches from the year. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 215: Sean Price Williams and Nick Pinkerton on The Sweet East and Recent Viewing Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. Sean Price Williams and Nick Pinkerton have been stalwart guests on the podcast before, sharing their encyclopedic viewing habits. But this time we start by talking about The Sweet East?the acclaimed new film that Sean directed and shot and Nick wrote. Talia Ryder stars as a young woman who goes on a picaresque journey through our complicated country, meeting a range of daunting characters (including Simon Rex as a politically unsavory professor, and Jeremy O. Harris and Ayo Edebiri as filmmakers casting a period drama). But that?s only half of our conversation, because I have to ask Sean and Nick (both Kim?s Video alums) about what they?ve been watching, as well as Sean?s other intriguing projects. The Sweet East opens on December 1 and stars Talia Ryder, Simon Rex, Ayo Edebiri, Jeremy O. Harris, and Jacob Elordi. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 214: Eric Hynes on award-winner "1489" and more documentary highlights at IDFA + bonus selections with Edo Choi Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. A special double episode wraps up our coverage of notable new nonfiction at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. Eric Hynes, curator of film at the Museum of the Moving Image, discusses the IDFA Best Film award-winner, Shoghakat Vardanyan?s 1489, a harrowing and personal look at a family looking for a son missing in military action, and we cover other highlights including A Picture to Remember (Olga Chernykh), Chasing the Dazzling Light (Yaser Kassab), The Last (Sebastian Peña Escobar), and Behind Closed Doors (João Pedro Bim). And then, the podcast concludes with a quick bonus track: a chat with recent guest Edo Choi about a few more IDFA docs?Limitation, The Clinic, World Is Family, and Danger Zone. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 213: Julian Ross on New Nonfiction at IDFA Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Every year, a stimulating new crop of nonfiction cinema premieres at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. During the latest edition, I spoke with Julian Ross, an Amsterdam-based programmer and professor who is a film program advisor at IDFA and co-programmer of Doc Fortnight. He talks about recent events that occurred during the festival and attracted attention, and discusses film highlights such as Mohamad Jabaly?s Life Is Beautiful, Kaori Oda?s Gama, and Kumjana Novakova?s Silence of Reason, as well as the festival?s Corresponding Cinemas slate of filmmaker-to-filmmaker discussions and screenings featuring Sky Hopinka, Jumana Manna, and others. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 212: Restorations with James Vaughan: Abel Gance, Pressure, Man Ray, Abraham?s Valley Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Every year the New York Film Festival rolls out a selection of revivals and restorations, and for the latest edition, I welcomed filmmaker James Vaughan (Friends and Strangers) back to the podcast. We discussed a number of highlights, some of which will be making their way to cinemas: La Roue (Abel Gance), Pressure (Horace Ové), films by Man Ray (accompanied by Jim Jarmusch?s band SQÜRL), and Abraham?s Valley (Manoel de Oliveira). Plus a straggler from the premieres: Martin Rejtman?s La Practica. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 211: Edo Choi on Killers of the Flower Moon, Janet Planet, All of Us Strangers, Kevin Jerome Everson Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Martin Scorsese?s Killers of the Flower Moon is finally out in theaters, and it?s one of the films I discussed with Edo Choi, associate curator of the Museum of the Moving Image. We chatted on campus at Lincoln Center while attending the New York Film Festival, and the titles in our conversation included: Scorsese?s Killers of the Flower Moon, playwright-turned-filmmaker Annie Baker?s Janet Planet, Andrew Haigh?s All of Us Strangers, and new work by Kevin Jerome Everson and James Benning. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 210: Bruce Bennett on Eight Hours of Terror, Ambush at Tomahawk Gap, Yield to the Night, Nuke Films, and more Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. It?s that most wonderful time: writer and ?recovering film critic? Bruce Bennett returns to the podcast for another absolutely enjoyable discussion of recent viewing. As always it?s hard to pigeonhole the selection but broadly speaking we mine the 1950s?from Japan to England to the U.S.?for unsung brilliance by known and under-known auteurs. Films include: Eight Hours of Terror (Seijun Suzuki), Ambush at Tomahawk Gap (Fred Sears), Yield to the Night (J. Lee Thompson), Ladybird Ladybird (Frank and Eleanor Perry), Locked In (David C. Snyder), and much more. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 209: Clyde Folley on 90s Horror on Criterion Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. Season?s greetings! On this episode I talk about 90s horror with Clyde Folley, programmer on the delightful 90s Horror series on the Criterion Channel (and, previously, their incredible 80s Horror series!). We talk about a few titles in the ripsnorting selection, including Body Parts, Def by Temptation, The Exorcist III, When a Stranger Calls Back, The Addiction, and the religious apocalyptic shocker The Rapture. Happy Halloween! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 208: Amy Taubin on the New York Film Festival 2023 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This year, the 61st New York Film Festival curated a notably strong selection of films drawn from other festivals as well as a few premieres of its own. To discuss her critical highlights, I was delighted to welcome back the one and only Amy Taubin (whose report on this edition appears in Artforum). Among the films discussed are Agnieszka Holland?s Green Border, May December (Todd Haynes), Close Your Eyes (Victor Erice), Jean-Luc Godard?s final film, Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos), Janet Planet (Annie Baker), Going to Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project (Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson), Menus-Plaisirs: Les Troisgros (Frederick Wiseman), and The Sweet East (Sean Price Williams). Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 207: Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert on Reverse Shot at 20 Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The wonderful film publication Reverse Shot celebrates its 20th anniversary of existence this year. Since I first wrote for Reverse Shot early in my career, it?s always held a special place in my heart, and it?s still going strong -- a gladdening beacon in the landscape of film criticism (and of critics, with an enviable roster of sharp voices and alums). I sat down with the co-founders of Reverse Shot, Michael Koresky and Jeff Reichert, at MOMI to discuss how it all began, go through highlights from the eventful past 20 years, and (in an unpredictable lightning round) a few personal favorites of theirs. Koresky and Reichert's biographies besides RS extend to filmmaking (such as American Factory, co-produced by Reichert, and Feast of the Epiphany, co-directed by Koresky, Reichert, and Farihah Zaman), books (including Koresky?s Films of Endearment), and more. MOMI?s anniversary program of Reverse Shot events continues this weekend with screenings of Terence Davies's The Deep Blue Sea, and other rarely screened films in the coming weeks. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 206: Eric Hynes on Toronto 2023: The Pigeon Tunnel, The Holdovers, The Peasants, American Fiction, Gonzo Girl Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the fall season kicks off, I have a few more titles?some slated for release in the coming months, others yet to be distributed?plucked from the ranks of the Toronto International Film Festival. I talked with Eric Hynes, curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image, about Errol Morris?s The Pigeon Tunnel, Alexander Payne?s The Holdovers, Cord Jefferson?s American Fiction, Patricia Arquette?s Gonzo Girl, and The Peasants, from Dorota Kobiela and Hugh Welchman. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 205: Toronto 2023 with Beatrice Loayza: The Teachers? Lounge, Arthur & Diana, Wavelengths shorts, Memory Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. As the fall season kicks off, I?m catching up with some intriguing titles seen at the Toronto International Film Festival 2023 that you might not have heard much about yet. I chatted with critic Beatrice Loayza about a few titles: Ilker Çatak?s The Teachers? Lounge, Michel Franco?s Memory starring Jessica Chastain and Peter Sarsgaard, Sara Summa?s Arthur & Diana, and shorts from TIFF's Wavelengths section. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 204: Toronto 2023 with Mark Asch: The Boy and the Heron, His Three Daughters, Lee, Silver Dollar Road Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This month I went to the Toronto International Film Festival 2023 and recorded a few dispatches for your edification. I sat down with Mark Asch, who was filing for the film journal Little White Lies, and discussed an eclectic selection of movies from the sprawling TIFF lineup. Titles include: Hayao Miyazaki?s The Boy and the Heron, Azazel Jacobs?s His Three Daughters, Ellen Kuras?s Lee (about photographer Lee Miller), and Raoul Peck?s Silver Dollar Road. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 203: Venice 2023 with Glenn Kenny: The Killer, Caine Mutiny, Orson Welles TV, Making Of, Restorations Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. For the last day of the 80th Venice Film Festival. I?m back again with Glenn Kenny of The New York Times and RogerEbert.com to chat about a cavalcade of films. Titles include: David Fincher?s The Killer; William Friedkin?s final film, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial; Orson Welles?s Portrait of Gina, a 1958 documentary about Gina Lollobrigida for an unrealized TV series; Cedric Kahn?s Making Of; the documentary Frank Capra: Mr. America; and restorations of Tarkovsky?s Andrei Rublev and Arturo Ripstein?s Deep Crimson. He also shares his thoughts on other films like Poor Things, and on the Biennale College film funding program. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 202: Venice 2023 with Jessica Kiang: Priscilla, Green Border, Hit Man, Coup de Chance Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m reporting from the 80th Venice Film Festival. This time I?m talking with Jessica Kiang, who is writing about the festival for Variety, Sight & Sound, and The New York Times. We discuss premieres from the festival?s second week: Sofia Coppola?s Priscilla, Agnieszka Holland?s Green Border, Richard Linklater?s Hit Man, and Woody Allen?s Coup de Chance. Please note: the audio may sound different about halfway through because of recording conditions?but don?t miss out on Kiang?s essential commentary! Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 201: Venice 2023 with Jordan Cronk: Aggro Dr1ft, The Beast, Evil Does Not Exist, Gasoline Rainbow Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m reporting from the 80th Venice Film Festival in, you guessed it, Venice. For the latest episode, regular guest Jordan Cronk talks about his inaugural trip to the festival. We talk about a number of films including Harmony Korine?s Aggro Dr1ft, Bertrand Bonello?s The Beast starring Lea Seydoux, Ryusuke Hamaguchi?s Evil Does Not Exist, and Gasoline Rainbow from Bill and Turner Ross. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 200: Venice 2023 with Jonathan Romney: Maestro, Henry Sugar, The Palace, El Conde, Promised Land Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m reporting from the 80th Venice Film Festival in, you guessed it, Venice. This time I'm joined by Jonathan Romney of Screen Daily and the Observer. We talk about a number of films including Maestro, directed by Bradley Cooper; Wes Anderson?s Roald Dahl adaptation The Wonderful Tale of Henry Sugar; Roman Polanski?s The Palace; Pablo Larrain?s El Conde; and Nikolaj Arcel?s The Promised Land. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 199: Venice 2023 with Guy Lodge: Poor Things, New Wiseman, City of Wind, Explanation for Everything Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 80th Venice Film Festival has begun, and I?m reporting from Venice about the movies that are making their premieres here. For the second episode, I?m joined by Guy Lodge, who?s writing for Variety and Film of the Week. We discuss Yorgos Lanthimos?s unexpected hit Poor Things, Frederick Wiseman?s Menus Plaisirs ? Les Troisgros, and two films from the Horizons section: City of Wind from director Lkhagvadulam Purev-Ochir, and Gabor Reisz?s Explanation for Everything. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 198: Venice 2023 with Glenn Kenny: Ferrari, Dogman, Hollywoodgate Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. The 80th Venice Film Festival has begun, and I?ll be reporting from Venice about the movies that are making their premieres. For the first episode, I?m joined by Glenn Kenny of The New York Times and RogerEbert.com. We discuss Michael Mann?s highly anticipated Ferrari, Luc Besson?s Dogman, and Ibrahim Nash'at?s extraordinary Taliban documentary Hollywoodgate, and Glenn shares what other movies he?s looking forward to seeing. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 197: Manohla Dargis on Summertime Viewing (and possibly Barbie) Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I catch up with a very special guest, Manohla Dargis, chief film critic of The New York Times. Instead of comparing festival notes or discussing recent reviews, this is a glimpse at what Dargis happens to have been watching recently. So in the interest of preserving the surprise, I?ll leave out the usual viewing list, though I can say we get some final thoughts on Barbie. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 196: Locarno 2023 with K.J. Relth-Miller on Mexican Retro: Spectacle Every Day Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. We have one final report from the Locarno film festival, on this year's retrospective. K.J. Relth-Miller, who programs at the Academy Museum in Los Angeles, has been attending Locarno's overview of Mexican popular cinema dating back to the 1940s: ?Spectacle Every Day.? Among the films we discuss are The Batwoman, Take Me in Your Arms, El Suavecito, The Mind and the Crime, and The Three Garcias. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 195: Locarno 2023 with Giovanni Marchini Camia on The Human Surge 3, Critical Zone, Good Place Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?ve been reporting on the Locarno film festival, and for the latest batch of premieres, I am happy to welcome back a past guest, Giovanni Marchini Camia, who is a programmer at Locarno, a critic, and co-founder of the publishing house Fireflies Press. We discuss Eduardo Williams?s The Human Surge 3; the Golden Leopard winner Critical Zone, from Ali Ahmadzadeh; and Katharina Huber?s A Good Place, a discovery that went on to win two prizes. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 194: Locarno 2023 with Beatrice Loayza: Mademoiselle Kenopsia, Yannick, Camping du Lac, The Vanishing Soldier Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m reporting from the Locarno film festival. Beatrice Loayza, who?s attending the festival for the first time, joins the podcast to discuss a few highlights, including: Quentin Dupieux?s Yannick, Denis Côté?s Mademoiselle Kenopsia, E?le?onore Saintagnan?s Camping du Lac, and Dani Rosenberg?s The Vanishing Soldier. 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. 193: Locarno 2023 with Jessica Kiang: Radu Jude?s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, Sweet Dreams, Manga D'Terra Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m reporting from the Locarno film festival, where Radu Jude?s Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World, has been a major stand-out. Jessica Kiang (Variety) joins the podcast to discuss Radu Jude?s film as well as two more titles in Locarno?s competition lineup: Ena Sendijarevi??s Sweet Dreams and Basil Da Cunha?s Manga d?Terra. Please note: the audio in this episode may sound different at one point because of a mic change. 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. 192: John Wilson on How To with John Wilson Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I talk with John Wilson, the mastermind of How To with John Wilson, the sui generis series on HBO. The third and final season of How To has now begun, and so I took the opportunity to ask Wilson about the secret to assembling the show?s serendipitous paths through New York and his own experience of the world. We also talked about his recent viewing and selections from the Anthology Film Archives series he programmed for this month. 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. 191: Amy Taubin on Oppenheimer, Barbie, Command-Z, Richard Kelly Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I talk with the one and only Amy Taubin about the double feature that has attracted crowds to movie theaters this weekend: Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, and Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig. We pick apart what we loved (or hated) about the two films, and then we discuss Steven Soderbergh?s surprise series Command-Z, available only online. Plus a few thoughts on upcoming Richard Kelly screenings. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: ?Monserrate? by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 190: Mstyslav Chernov on Ukraine documentary 20 Days in Mariupol Welcome to the Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I?m speaking with the director of the Ukraine documentary 20 Days in Mariupol, now showing at Film Forum and winner of a Sundance audience award. Mstyslav Chernov was a video journalist for the Associated Press who stayed in the city when the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. The AP journalists were the last from an international organization who remained in the city, and they were able to film the people and the streets during Russia?s brutal siege and bombardment, at one point filming from a hospital that became a target. Chernov and his colleagues won a Pulitzer Prize for their reporting, but 20 Days in Mariupol goes beyond news clips to give a fuller, tense chronicle of these days. I asked Chernov about crafting his documentary, getting the facts out about the war, and what films, fiction or documentary, have inspired him. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: ?Monserrate? by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 189: Amy Taubin on the Tribeca Festival 2023 and Beyond Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I talk with the one and only Amy Taubin about the 2023 edition of the Tribeca Festival. We discuss Taubin?s favorite from the festival; a couple of hard-hitting documentaries, Transition and Rule of Two Walls; video game titan Hideo Kojima and auteurs in dialogue David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh; and other notable titles like Mountains and A Strange Path. Plus thoughts on recent viewing and what?s to come. 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. 188: Peter Labuza on Sokurov, Klimov, Shepitko, Hellman?s Iguana, the strike Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week brings some recent highlights from Los Angeles repertory courtesy of my latest guest, Peter Labuza. He talks about two 1990s films by Alexander Sokurov, the formidable war-movie pairing of Larissa Shepitko?s The Ascent and Elem Klimov?s Come and See, and Monte Hellman?s rarely screened Iguana. Labuza, researcher at IATSE Local 600 (the International Cinematographers Guild) and a scholar in media industries law, also offers personal reflections on possible implications of the writers strike for the industry. Finally, I say a bit about Mary Bronstein?s Yeast. Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: ?Monserrate? by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass

Ep. 187: Michael Shannon Directs: Eric LaRue, a premiere at the Tribeca Festival Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I?m your host, Nicolas Rapold. This week I spoke with Michael Shannon who?s become an indelible actor in film, on stage, and on television. Now Shannon has directed his first feature film, Eric LaRue, which is in this year?s Tribeca Festival. It?s based on a play by a longtime collaborator of his, Brett Neveu, who wrote the film?s screenplay. The story is about a woman and her husband who are dealing with the terrible aftermath of their son?s actions. Shannon talks about directing the film; casting Judy Greer and Alex Skarsgard as the parents; what the Theater of the Absurd means to him; and a fascinating movie he has coming up down the road called The End, directed by Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing). (Shannon also appears in The Flash, opening in theaters this week.) Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at: rapold.substack.com Music: ?Monserrate? by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets Photo by Steve Snodgrass