New episodes: On how we sort out the world that we are shown, and the uniquely thrilling properties of silent movies
Conversations with two filmmakers on The Last Thing I Saw
Our collective summer has not exactly been happy-go-lucky, but as always I’ve found some solace in talking with people about the movies we love (or have issues with...). First came all the highlights from Cannes to look forward to, and those episodes rolled right into terrific conversations with filmmakers. One about the unique properties of silent cinema with James Vaughan, director of the decidedly not silent Friends and Strangers; and another about documentary’s ability to turn a mirror on ourselves, with The Viewing Booth director Ra’anan Alexandrowicz and curator Eric Hynes.
As fun as the podcast is, I hope it’s apparent that I approach it with a journalistic eye as I do my other work. I stand by the Cannes discussions as top-notch critical commentary ranking with—and starring—the best in the business. It does take quite a bit of time to produce, so please do subscribe if you have not already done so.
Thank you to all of the podcast’s supporters, new and old, of this regular space for the spirited discussion of movies.
Nic
NEW PODCAST NOTES
Ra’anan Alexandrowicz and Eric Hynes on The Viewing Booth
The Last Thing I Saw is also available on iTunes.
First documentary-focused podcast in a little while and it’s a great occasion. The Viewing Booth is a fascinating documentary about how we sort out our reactions to the hundreds of things we see and hear about the world every day.
Ra’anan Alexandrowicz is the director of this film, which I first saw at the True/False Film Fest, as well as The Law in These Parts, which won the Peabody Award.
Eric Hynes is curator of film at Museum of the Moving Image and a writer, critic, and journalist.
Silent Film with James Vaughan (Friends and Strangers): Pabst, Murnau, and more
The Last Thing I Saw is also available on iTunes.
Films discussed include: Diary of a Lost Girl, The Love of Jeanne Ney, Murnau’s Faust, The Old and the New (The General Line)
James Vaughan is the director of Friends and Strangers, which had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and will be released in the U.S. by Grasshopper Films. He has confessed to listening to The Last Thing I Saw.
Cannes Classics: I Know Where I’m Going, Tilda Swinton in Friendship’s Death, The Moon Has Risen, and more, with Carlos Valladares
The Last Thing I Saw is also available on iTunes.
Carlos Valladares is a writer, critic, and PhD student in the departments of film and media studies and history of art at Yale University. He has a column on film for Gagosian Quarterly and has appeared in n+1, the San Francisco Chronicle, and MUBI Notebook.
Catch up with the rest of the Cannes dispatches, which cover films that you’ll definitely be hearing more about (and other good ones you might not).
For more information on the podcast’s opening music by The Minarets (gratefully used with permission):
Follow the band on Instagram:
@theminaretsmusic
www.facebook.com/TheMinaretsMusic
twitter.com/MinaretsMusic
MY RECENT WRITING
For Reverse Shot, I talked with Agnès Godard, the absolutely delightful cinematographer behind the camera on many beautiful movies by Claire Denis, including Beau Travail. Just a wonderful conversation as she looked at images from her work and gave her reactions.
For Filmmaker magazine, I interviewed the director of Murina, the Best First Feature at Cannes (all sections), Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic.
And now for a little flashback to an older New York Times piece: here’s a mash note I wrote to... Terminator 2: Judgment Day. On the pleasures of when apocalypse is fictional.
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
Delectable selections for home viewing.
D.A. Pennebaker’s Original Cast Album: “Company” (Criterion)
Splendor in the Grass (HBO MAX)
THE END
Here I may end with a song.
ABOUT ME
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw!
I’m a writer and an editor. I served as editor-in-chief of Film Comment, where I worked for 15 years. I assigned and edited both web and print, hosted its podcast and talks and screenings, learned from brilliant writers, curated Film Comment Selects, and wrote a lot myself. Film Comment was subsequently awarded the Film Heritage Award by the National Society of Film Critics (an honor historically awarded to the Museum of Modern Art and other institutions).
My features, interviews, festival dispatches, and reviews have been published in The New York Times, Sight & Sound, Artforum, Filmmaker, and dearly departed publications such as The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine.
The Last Thing I Saw celebrates the art of conversation about movies with critics and filmmakers, looking at highlights from home viewing, the latest films on the horizon from festivals, and notable new releases. In its first year, it was named one of the Top Ten Film Podcasts by Sight & Sound.
Feel free to contact me about writing, editing, moderating, radio/TV appearances, etc.
nicolas.rapold@gmail.com