Radu Jude Chat + R. Emmet Sweeney on Tomonari Nishikawa and more
Dear Last Thing I Sawfolk,
As May begins in rain, I’m looking forward to talking about the new movies premiering in sunny Cannes. But first, I’ll have at least a couple of chats to post that I’m also excited about.
Last week I spoke with regular guest R. Emmet Sweeney about what he’s been watching lately, and we begin with his remembrance of a wonderful filmmaker, Tomonari Nishikawa, who passed away. Links to his films are below (pictured above is one work created by burying 35mm negative film under fallen leaves).
I’m also posting my interview with Radu Jude, the Romanian director of Kontinental ’25 and previously Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World. Even when you haven’t seen the movie in question, a Radu conversation tends to yield thoughtful (and funny) insights about filmmaking and the world.
Stay tuned for more. My thanks to all the supporters of The Last Thing I Saw!
Nic
THE PODCAST
[To play each episode, click the episode title, or click in the player below. Or find The Last Thing I Saw elsewhere...]
Radu Jude on his film Kontinental ’25, reflecting the world today, and going back to basics (Ep. 311)
Radu Jude is the director of Kontinental ’25, which will be released in North America by the distributor 1-2 Special. He also directed Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World and previously won the Golden Bear at the Berlin film festival for Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn.
R. Emmet Sweeney is an occasional film critic who produces physical media for Kino Lorber. His substack is Old New, and the remembrances of Tomonari Nishikawa can be found there.
Episodes of The Last Thing I Saw are available at many other podcast places.
RECENT WORK
As mentioned, here’s that interview with David Cronenberg I was working on about The Shrouds, a story about man who invents a coffin camera, which Cronenberg considers a love story. He was as fascinating to talk to you as ever, and I’d like to think I have a few tidbits here that haven’t appeared elsewhere.
And in the spirit of the podcast interview with Radu Jude, here’s my review of Kontinental ’25 which I wrote when it premiered in Berlin.
I’m also sharing my Sight & Sound review of 2,000 Meters to Andriivka, the new film about the invasion of Ukraine from Oscar-winner Mstyslav Chernov (20 Days in Mariupol). Strong stuff, and it came to mind when watching Warfare.
THIS CRITIC’S PICKS
The Films of Tomonari Nishikawa (tomonarinishikawa.com)
eXistenz (Metrograph) Through the virtual looking glass with David Cronenberg, in 1999
Strange Days (Criterion)
Xiao Shan Going Home (Criterion) “Jia Zhangke’s raw yet revelatory student film”
Spree (MUBI) I confess I found this a lot to take in 2020, but I wonder how it plays now?
Rachel and the Stranger (MAX) A whole boatload of westerns/movies-set-in-the-old-West hit Max this month for whatever reason—here’s one, but there’s also Randolph Scott aplenty and The Naked Spur and Stars in My Crown
THE END
Here I may end with a song.
ABOUT ME
Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw! I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. You can get in touch re: writing, editing, programming, moderating, podcasting, etc. at
nicolas.rapold[at]gmail.com
Besides hosting the podcast, I’m a writer, editor, and programmer. My features, interviews, festival reports, and reviews are published in The New York Times, Screen Slate, Sight & Sound, Filmmaker, Air Mail, The Financial Times, and W Magazine. (Dearly departed publications include The Village Voice, Stop Smiling, The New York Sun, and The L Magazine.) I’m also proud of the film series and one-offs I’ve programmed, revivals and premieres, so do drop me a line if you’d like to collaborate.
Editorially speaking, I worked as editor-in-chief of Film Comment magazine, where I was for 15 years in all. I assigned and edited both web and print, hosted The Film Comment Podcast and Talks, curated and hosted Film Comment Selects screenings, learned from brilliant writers, and wrote a lot, including interviews with Spike Lee, Robert Pattinson, Juliette Binoche, Pedro Costa, and Frederick Wiseman. Film Comment received the Film Heritage Award from the National Society of Film Critics.
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