Deep Cut: A Film Podcast
by Wilson, Ben, and Eli
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Recent episodes
131. Marina de Van: In My Skin
May 3, 2026
Unknown duration
130. HKIFF50 Dispatch (The Drama, Blue Heron, Silent Friend, We’re Nothing at All, and MORE!)
Apr 26, 2026
Unknown duration
129. Kelly Reichardt: The Mastermind
Apr 19, 2026
Unknown duration
128. Lynne Ramsay: Die My Love
Apr 5, 2026
Unknown duration
127. Interview with Kani Releasing: Ariel Esteban Cayer and Pearl Chan
Mar 29, 2026
Unknown duration
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| Date | Episode | Description | Length | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5/3/26 |  131. Marina de Van: In My Skin | Not for the faint of heart, Marina de Van’s film In My Skin challenges our stomachs, hearts and minds. While Wilson squirms, Ben gets to the heart of why Eli loves sicko mode movies. Can one of the most underrated New French Extremism films secretly be deeply empathetic?Links:The Art of Cruelty: A Reckoning by Maggie Nelson“The Goon Squad” by Daniel Kolitz (Harpers Magazine, 2025)Night Vision: Seeing Ourselves Through Dark Moods by Mariana AlessandriInterviews with & articles on Marina de Van:Rotterdam, 2019Screenslate, 2022Dread Central, 2022The French Review, 2010The Guardian, 2004Pinnland Empire, 2012Get in our skin (ew?) at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:03:23 Introducing In My Skin00:06:13 General reactions00:11:29 Body fascination00:14:37 Is it horror?00:18:34 Eli goes sicko mode00:26:04 Director background00:32:12 Addiction / self-discovery00:40:38 Characters00:46:08 Female horror00:49:45 Splitscreens and artmaking00:55:12 The ending01:00:28 g00ning01:04:44 Dinner scene01:12:16 Additional crew on In My Skin01:16:31 Closing ideas | — | ||||||
| 4/26/26 |  130. HKIFF50 Dispatch (The Drama, Blue Heron, Silent Friend, We’re Nothing at All, and MORE!) | 哈囉 from Hong Kong! Wilson recaps a busy edition of the Hong Kong International Film Festival, including meeting and interviewing the one and only Tony Leung Chiu Wai for SILENT FRIEND. Wilson also chats about the seven(!) soon to come director interviews he conducted for the podcast, and some interesting classic films shown at this year’s edition of HKIFF. The trio also discuss some exciting new releases including new films from Hong Sang-soo, Carla Simon, and Anthony Chen. Links:Tony Leung InterviewThe Blade Video EssayRadu Jude on Hong reelTake the MTR to our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00: Intro00:07:34 Meeting Tony Leung00:14:23 Silent Friend (2025) dir. Ildiko Enyedi00:16:27 Sleep No More (2026) dir. Edwin00:20:04 Ah Girl (2026) dir. Ang Geck Geck00:23:33 Memory (2025) dir. Vladlena Sandu00:30:48 Palimpsest: The Story of a Name (2025) dir. Mary Stephen00:36:37 Mare’s Nest (2025) dir. Ben Rivers00:39:40 Vive L’amour (1994) dir. Tsai Ming Liang00:43:48 Panelstory or Birth of a Community (1981) dir. Věra Chytilová 00:45:54 Ah Ying (1983) dir. Allen Fong 00:49:13 The Horse Thief (1986)dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang 00:51:03 Unknown Pleasures (2002) dir. Jia Zhangke00:53:30 Days and Nights in the Forest (1970) dir. Satyajit Ray 00:54:55 Final Victory (1987) dir. Patrick Tam 00:59:20 We Are All Strangers (2026) dir. Anthony Chen01:06:37 We’re Nothing at All (2026) dir. Herman Yau01:10:40 My Father’s Shadow (2025) dir. Akinola Davies Jr.01:11:45 The Day She Returns (2026) dir. Hong Sang Soo01:18:20 Magellan (2025) dir. Lav Diaz01:22:15 Romeria (2025) dir. Carla Simon01:24:40 The Voice of Hind Rijab (2025) dir. Kaouther Ben Hania01:27:50 Writing Life – Annie Ernaux Through the Eyes of High School Students (2025) dir. Claire Simon01:31:00 Blue Heron (2025) dir. Sophy Romvari01:36:00 The Drama (2026) dir. Kristoffer Borgli01:40:15 Outro | — | ||||||
| 4/19/26 |  129. Kelly Reichardt: The Mastermind | “[Reichardt] makes you love these dicks.” – WilsonHow on earth does she do that? Does she have the mind of a master? Join us as we find out how Reichardt’s idiosyncratic style in The Mastermind helps you love this one dick despite all the hairy situations he’s entangled in. We debate the film’s reception during the AMC secret screening debacle, Reichardt's constantly zagging career, and her place in the American cinema landscape amidst dwindling cultural literacy.Links:Filmstage interviewMind of a master videoMaster your mind at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro05:18 General reactions13:55 The ending19:28 Reichardt films and public reactions28:19 Parts we liked about the movie32:24 Josh O’Connor 36:03 More on the public’s reaction44:16 Alana Haim49:51 Outro | — | ||||||
| 4/5/26 |  128. Lynne Ramsay: Die My Love | After an 8-year hiatus, Lynne Ramsay has returned with her latest feature, Die My Love, and we're here to keep up with the Scottish auteur!After an 8-year hiatus, Lynne Ramsay has returned with her latest feature, Die My Love, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson. On this Deep Cut Upkeep episode, we find out if it was worth the wait and consider what’s next for the Scottish auteur. Eli helps define the subgenre of “mommy horror,” Ben questions the depth of the movie’s characters, and Wilson draws comparisons to Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch and Darren Aronofsky’s Mother!.Links:Kelsey E. Henry, “Monstrous Motherhood” from The PointDon’t die, my love, at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.comTimestamps:00:00 Intro03:30 General reactions14:03 Maternal madness pictures19:14 Linearity22:19 Why Ramsay for this film26:02 Comparing with Ramsay's other works28:31 A good trailer29:58 The ending32:07 Mommy horror40:34 "A crazy love story"44:26 Last words / outro | — | ||||||
| 3/29/26 |  127. Interview with Kani Releasing: Ariel Esteban Cayer and Pearl Chan | Wilson takes a trip to Peng Chau to visit Ariel and Pearl of Kani Releasing, a North American film distribution company specializing in Asian cinema, to chat about their work, the films in their catalog and the changing film landscape for theatrical/physical media distribution. Wilson takes a trip to Peng Chau to visit Ariel and Pearl of Kani Releasing, a North American film distribution company specializing in Asian cinema, to chat about their work, the films in their catalog and the changing film landscape for theatrical/physical media distribution. The chat about select titles in the Kani library, including Deep Cut favorite Marilou Diaz Abaya’s Moral (Ep 71) and Karnal, Patrick Tam’s My Heart is That Eternal Rose, and Nao Yoshigai’s Shari. Links:Kani ReleasingCrabwalk over to our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:01:42 Introducing Kani Releasing00:10:37 Path to Kani Releasing00:20:01 Karnal / Moral (dir. Marilou Diaz-Abaya)00:30:06 Archiving in the Philippines 00:33:19 Bona (dir. Lino Brocka)00:38:17 Kisapmata (dir. Mike de Leon)00:44:13 Changing Filipino film culture00:50:07 Kani's geography00:53:07 Shari (dir. Nao Yoshigai)01:02:21 My Heart is That Eternal Rose (dir. Patrick Tam)01:11:47 Bye Bye Love (dir. Isao Fujisawa)01:14:16 Looking for an Angel (dir. Akihiro Suzuki)01:15:46 Amiko / Desert of Namibia (dir. Yoko Yamanaka)01:21:00 Batang West Side (dir. Lav Diaz)01:22:48 What's next for Kani Releasing | — | ||||||
| 3/22/26 |  126. Hong Sang-soo: What Does That Nature Say To You? | Flowers bloom at night… it’s not scary. With our first of presumably many Deep Cut Upkeeps on prolific South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo, we explore What Does That Nature Say to You? We flesh out our theory of how Hong achieves authenticity and immediacy while eliding simple meaning, unpack the latest Hong male lead, and catch Hong’s reference to 6-7.Bow at our grandmothers’ trees at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro05:12 General reactions12:20 Glazing the boyfriend14:30 Context20:50 Dong-hwa as a Hong man29:50 Girlfriend's family 38:58 Hong surrogacy: where is he in WDTNSTY?44:12 Hong's image quality (or lack thereof)51:22 Other notable scenes57:35 Last words on Hong for now | — | ||||||
| 3/8/26 |  125. Hong Sang-soo: Hill of Freedom (featuring Ryan Swen) | Film critic and Events Chair of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Ryan Swen joins us to discuss his Hong Sang-soo Deep Cut Pick, Hill of Freedom. Swen has had a huge hand in shaping our Hong series through his ongoing criticism project, Hong Sang-soo Notarized. We all take a look at the non-chronological narrative of Hong’s meditation on misogyny, Japan and Korea, and the unsurprising consequences of drinking too much.Drop your letters at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:01:40 Ryan Swen introduction00:04:29 Hong Sang Soo Notarized Project00:12:21 Hill of Freedom introduction and general reactions00:21:29 Lost (and Found) in translation00:27:21 Japan and Korea00:32:53 Narrative structure00:39:41 Mori and Misogyny 00:45:47 Hongisms00:52:57 The ending01:00:40 Actors01:03:11 Outro | — | ||||||
| 2/22/26 |  124. Hong Sang-soo: The Novelist’s Film (featuring Dennis Lim) | Writer, film curator, and leading Hong Sang-soo scholar Dennis Lim brings a personal favorite from Hong’s oeuvre–– 2022’s The Novelist’s Film–– to Deep Cut. As the DC trio and their esteemed guest enjoy the luxuriate in Hong’s complex, joyous depiction of collaborating artists-in-exile, Dennis shares his background with Hong, this film’s shape, and the model Hong sets for young, independent filmmakers.Film your novel at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:08 Introducing guest03:47 Lim's background with Hong11:15 DC trio's current thoughts on Hong15:41 Why the Novelist's Film / general reactions26:13 Hong's regular actors28:04 Formal discussion38:33 Shapes41:16 Lee Hye-young46:25 Ha song-guk47:06 Waste, exile, potential50:19 Hong's business, life, and art model (good for young filmmakers)55:53 Outro | — | ||||||
| 2/17/26 |  123. The Best Movies of 2025, according to Deep Cut (with discussions on Sinners, Wake Up Dead Man, Left Handed Girl, Sirat, Magellan, It Was Just an Accident, Sentimental Value, Black Bag, and MORE!) | Sorry Baby, but it’s One Battle After Another, as we clash and debate our favorite films of 2025! We’re covering obligatory mentions of the biggest films of the year and picking up our Weapons to dunk on some that we’re Regretting You watched. Which of these films will we look back on with strong Sentimental Value, 28 Years Later? Which are winners, which are Sinners? I’m afraid you’re going to have to Wake Up Dead Man from your Dreams (Sex Love), some might even call that a Resurrection, because you’ve got No Other Choice but to listen and find out.LinksWilson's Reviews: News from Home, Eat Drink Man WomanBen's Reviews: Avatar: Fire and Ash, What Does That Nature Say to You Eli’s Sinners ReviewBen’s Kinetoscope Piece: The Spirits in the MediumList: Full List of films discussed on LetterboxdList: Deep Cut’s Top 12 of 2025Tell us your faves at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:02:58 General 2025 thoughts00:12:08 Non-2025 gems00:16:22 2025 on Deep Cut00:20:16 Eli's fave Letterboxd reviews from Wilson and Ben00:21:46 Obligatory Mentions00:22:06 Marty Supreme dir. Josh Safdie00:24:08 The Secret Agent dir. Kleber Mendonça Filho00:25:44 Frankenstein dir. Guillermo del Toro00:28:38 Sentimental Value dir. Joachim Trier00:30:59 Hamnet dir. Chloé Zhao00:38:36 Hamnet spoiler00:40:27 If I Had Legs I'd Kick You dir. Mary Bronstein00:42:27 Bugonia dir. Yorgos Lanthimos00:44:13 Kpop Demon Hunters dir. Maggie Kang & Chris Appelhans00:46:55 Train Dreams dir. Clint Bentley00:48:49 Avatar: Fire and Ash dir. James Cameron00:54:30 Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning dir. Christopher McQuarrie00:56:48 Eddington dir. Ari Aster00:57:14 Wicked For Good dir. Jon M. Chu00:58:16 No Other Choice dir. Park Chan-wook00:59:48 Magellan and Phantosmia dir. Lav Diaz01:01:54 The Phoenician Scheme dir. Wes Anderson01:05:34 Weapons dir. Zach Cregger01:12:28 Materialists dir. Celine Song01:13:40 Materialists Spoiler01:18:02 Regretting You dir. Josh Boone01:19:38 Sirat dir. Oliver Laxe01:22:27 Sirat Spoiler01:25:41 Sirat Spoiler 201:26:19 Deep Cut Upkeep Overview01:28:35 Honorable Mentions01:28:40 Viet and Nam dir. Truong Minh Quy01:29:14 Blue Moon dir. Richard Linklater01:30:25 Boys Go to Jupiter dir. Julian Glander01:31:04 Baby dir. Marcelo Caetano01:31:33 Nouvelle Vague dir. Richard Linklater01:32:48 Black Bag dir. Steven Soderbergh01:34:36 Cactus Pears dir. Rohan Kanawade01:35:35 Seaside Serendipity dir. Satoko Yokohama01:36:33 Sorry Baby dir. Eva Victor01:37:58 Misericordia dir. Alain Guiraudie01:39:06 Silent Friend dir. Ildikó Enyedi01:41:20 Caught by the Tides dir. Jia Zhangke01:42:48 Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk dir. Sepideh Farsi01:44:51 My Sunshine dir. Hiroshi Okuyama01:46:56 Superman dir. James Gunn01:48:52 100 METERS dir. Kenji Iwaisawa01:53:31 Reflection in a Dead Diamond dir. Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani01:54:28 Afternoons of Solitude dir. Albert Serra01:57:05 The Wedding Banquet dir. Andrew Ahn01:57:19 Top 501:57:30 One Battle After Another dir. Paul Thomas Anderson02:05:57 Resurrection dir. Bi Gan02:07:51 Peter Hujar's Day dir. Ira Sachs02:12:19 Christmas Eve in Miller's Point dir. Tyler Taormina02:17:10 I'm Still Here dir. Walter Salles02:19:14 28 Years Later dir. Danny Boyle02:21:06 Dreams (Sex Love) dir. Dag Johan Haugerud02:25:37 Resurrection dir. Bi Gan02:26:29 Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery dir. Rian Johnson02:28:07 It Was Just an Accident dir. Jafar Panahi02:32:05 Cloud dir. Kiyoshi Kurosawa02:33:32 Left-Handed Girl dir. Tsou Shih-Ching 02:37:29 One Battle After Another dir. Paul Thomas Anderson02:40:04 Sinners dir. Ryan Coogler02:45:41 Outro | — | ||||||
| 2/8/26 |  122. Hong Sang-soo: Yourself and Yours | In this episode, we get into Ben’s favorite Hong film of all time, Yourself and Yours. If On The Beach At Night Alone is Hong’s first reflection on the scandalized reception to the reveal of his relationship with Kim Min-hee, Ben shares the theory that Yourself and Yours is secretly the one about its beginning. In our discussion, we try to pin down Minjung’s slippery personas, pick apart the film’s dream sequences, define the qualities of Hong’s surrealist and yet mundane approach, and ask, what does it take to be a Hong film that believes in love?Links:Yourself and Yours segmentationInexplicable doppelganger listHong Sang-soo Notarized: Yourself and YoursBreak a leg at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:00 Film Intro04:05 General reactions09:12 AFA Post screening discussion 11:45 Film context15:20 Structure / segmentation20:28 Doppelgangers and dreams26:06 Perception of Mnjung31:09 The ending33:47 Context in Hong’s career36:25 Ben’s favorite scene40:15 Parallel characters and Hong-isms46:00 Reflection on discussion53:45 Outro | — | ||||||
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| 1/25/26 |  121. Hong Sang-soo: On the Beach At Night Alone | What do Inception, Tim Robinson, Luis Buñuel, Woody Allen, and Chantal Akerman have in common? They all get compared to Hong Sang-soo’s On the Beach at Night Alone in this episode of Deep Cut! Listen on as we unpack the movie that’s loosely about Hong’s and Kim Min-hee’s career-changing relationship, digest more awkward dinner scenes, and discuss the merits of going to the beach in the winter.Links:Scold your friends for being inauthentic at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:31 General reactions08:00 Context / Hong+Kim relationship14:32 SG public opinion survey18:04 Hong Sang-soo's 'Inception'20:08 Hong Sang-soo / Tim Robinson21:43 Hong / Buñuel25:45 Hong not planning era27:17 Ryan Swen Notarized and dinner scene33:16 What to do with this movie?38:13 Hong's Chantal Akerman41:10 Hong as Woody Allen 😬 43:35 Shape of this film46:43 Outro | — | ||||||
| 1/11/26 |  120. Chantal Akerman: The Meetings of Anna | Is traveling through Europe too expensive? Then hop aboard a train with the Deep Cut trio and Chantal Akerman for another sensitive, lightly autobiographical story of a surrogate character experiencing ennui and/or despair. Along the road trip, there’s sex, ‘70s outfits, and… windows. Ultimately, we struggle to decide: how well can we know Akerman through her work (or, for that matter, anyone)?Meet Ben, Wilson, and Eli (kinda) at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro03:46 Summary04:27 General reactions11:33 Jeanne Dielman vs The Meetings of Anna16:39 Mom and Akerman herself22:37 Plot sequence and Akerman’s subjectivity30:32 Other Akerman films34:20 Akerman and loneliness37:39 Ending40:12 Sex43:29 Singing | — | ||||||
| 12/28/25 |  119. Chantal Akerman: Je Tu Il Elle (featuring Justina Yam) | We are joined by none other than friend of the pod and the artist behind all of our DC covers, Justina Yam! Justina comes on the podcast to take us back to the works of Chantal Akerman, with her first feature Je Tu Il Elle. Justina talks about her personal connection to Akerman’s films, and discusses how she continues to play with time in her filmography. Wilson and Eli talk about expressions through body language and narration, and Ben has a theory about Je Tu Il Elle being a non-linear film. Do you want DC merch? Tell us on the Discord!Links:Justina’s InstagramJustina’s recent photojournalism project: 風流 (Feng Liu)Ira Sachs on Je Tu Il ElleEat sugar at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:01:44 Introducing Justina Yam00:07:09 Je tu il elle introduction00:08:04 General thoughts on Je Tu Il Elle from Justina and Wilson00:13:21 General context of the film00:15:27 General reactions from Ben and Eli00:18:09 Sugar? Long Takes?00:20:56 Feminism and Akerman 00:23:30 The three act structure00:27:44 Blocking and the body00:34:06 Long takes00:36:42 Sex scenes00:41:43 Autobiographical nature of the film00:47:16 Temporality 00:53:49 The ending and career context00:58:49 Discomfort within Akerman’s cinema 01:04:03 Outro | — | ||||||
| 12/23/25 |  118. SGIFF36: A Useful Ghost (2025) - Interview with Director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke | Ben got a chance to interview director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke for his film A Useful Ghost (2025) that played at the 36th Singapore International Film Festival, where it also won the Special Mention Prize for the Asian Feature Film Competition. Learn about Boonbunchachoke’s creative process, how he developed the story, and his approach to filmmaking as a whole that tends towards artificiality, deadpan humour and an engagement with history.Special thanks to the SGIFF team for helping us with securing an interview time/location, and to Momo Film Co, the film’s Singapore co-production team for helping to coordinate the interview. Suck less at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:47 Reception04:00 Queer readings07:39 Developing story and themes12:02 Political / historical references13:24 History, memory, surveillance18:19 Artificiality, worldbuilding, craft25:36 Spoilers: Frame story27:25 Spoilers: Ending31:43 Other appliance candidates33:42 Upcoming work34:35 Outro | — | ||||||
| 12/14/25 |  117. 36th Singapore International Film Festival (2025) Dispatch (Resurrection, Silent Friend, Two Seasons Two Strangers, Amoeba, and MORE!) | Another festival coverage episode? We’re back to back with Asian film festivals and Ben returns to Singapore to cover the hottest films from the festival circuit and the region for the 36th Singapore International Film Festival. Our film coverage spans the most hotly contested tickets (Silent Friend, Girl, Resurrection, Sentimental Value), cinema classics (Matador, Water, Bye Bye Love), and promising first features from the region (Amoeba, A Useful Ghost, Old Man and His Car)This is a spicy and fun episode where Ben reflects honestly about his festival experience and Singapore’s cinema culture, as well as sharing his optimism with the concurrent ground-up efforts (The Daily, FFIGS) reinvigorating that culture. On top of all that, we also find the time to do a very special celebration in the middle of the episode.Links:Correspondence / The DailyBen’s piece on the Cinephile PassFFIGSDeepa Mehta Write-upLuca Guadagnino video on costumes Hilma af Klint: What Stands Behind the Flowers at MoMAMadame Morible Wicked Witch memeInterview with Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (forthcoming!)Correspond with us at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:03:15 Festival as a whole 00:08:45 Netflix acquisition of WB00:11:51 Festival operations00:20:33 Festival passes00:24:15 Banned films00:27:48 SGIFilmFeud00:28:25 Correspondence / The Daily00:30:56 FFIGS00:34:40 Optimism00:38:14 The films / Bye Bye Love (1974) dir. Fujisawa Isao00:43:10 How Dare You? (2025) dir. Mipo O00:46:14 Two Seasons, Two Strangers (2025) dir. Sho Miyake00:48:29 Audience behaviour00:51:25 Girl (2025) dir. Shu Qi00:56:20 Resurrection (2025) dir. Bi Gan01:02:25 Water (2005) dir. Deepa Mehta01:07:02 A Celebration01:09:00 Sentimental Value (2025) dir. Joachim Trier01:11:25 Hamnet (2025) dir. Chloe Zhao01:14:25 Late Fame (2025) dir. Kent Jones01:18:07 Matador (1986) dir. Pedro Almodovar01:21:20 Silent Friend (2025) dir. Ildikó Enyedi 01:27:00 SEA Shorts Programme01:31:36 The Old Man and His Car (2025) dir. Michael Kam01:36:50 Amoeba (2025) dir. Tan Siyou01:43:10 A Useful Ghost (2025) dir. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke01:51:16 Wrapup01:57:30 Bonus | — | ||||||
| 12/7/25 |  116. TIFF38: Morte Cucina (2025) - Interview with Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Bella Boonsang | While attending the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, Ben was able to interview director Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and lead actress Bella Boonsang for their film Morte Cucina.Morte Cucina follows Sao as she takes an unconventional path toward revenge against a man who has wronged her.Listen in to hear about Ratanaruang’s candid thoughts on his approach to filmmaking, Boonsang’s initial trepidation and determination to tackling this tricky role, and Ratanaruang’s evolving working relationship with the film’s DP, Christopher Doyle (their third feature film collaboration!).Special thanks to the TIFF team for arranging the interview!Get revenge at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:22 Inspiration for the film04:30 Bella’s reaction to the script06:23 Casting Bella Boonsang09:45 Cinematography with Chris Doyle13:15 The movie is made on set17:30 What is love?22:17 Outro | — | ||||||
| 11/23/25 |  115. 38th Tokyo International Film Festival (2025) Dispatch (Hamnet, Love Massacre, Palestine 36, The Mastermind, and MORE!) | Armed with a press pass and the Japanese language level of a 3 year old, Ben took to the cinemas of Tokyo during the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival. Ben’s coverage spans a varied 17 films over 10 days of the festival: buzzy and fresh Japanese films (Bring Him Down to a Portable Size; The Last Blossom; All Greens…) international film festival darlings (Lost Land; Palestine 36…), and a handful of exciting restorations (Demon Pond, Love Massacre…). And if you haven’t listened to Ben’s interviews from during the festival, what are you waiting for?114. Sato and Sato (2025): Interview with Director Amano Chihiro116. Morte Cucina (2025): Interview with Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Bella BoonsangOther Links:Chloe Zhao x Hirokazu Koreedaようこそto our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:04:23 TIFF38 Press Experience00:08:55 Demon Pond (1979) dir. Masahiro Shinoda00:14:28 Pale Flower (1964) dir. Masahiro Shinoda 00:17:55 Floating Clouds (1955) dir. Mikio Naruse00:23:32 Love Massacre (1981) dir. Patrick Tam00:29:01 April Story (1998) dir. April Story00:32:58 3.11 disaster sidebar00:36:10 Blonde (2025) dir. Yûichirô Sakashita00:39:35 Sato and Sato (2025) dir. Chihiro Amano00:43:41 All Greens (2025) dir. Takashi Koyama00:47:40 The Last Blossom (2025) dir. Baku Kinoshita00:52:35 Lost Land (2025) dir. Akio Fujimoto00:58:30 Echoes of the Orient (2025) dir. Yang Liping01:00:55 Labyrinth (2025) dir. Shoji Kawamori01:03:46 Bring Him Down to a Portable Size (2025) dir. Ryota Nakano01:07:18 Morte Cucina (2025) dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang01:12:45 Palestine 36 (2025) dir. Annemarie Jacir01:20:16 The Mastermind (2025) dir. Kelly Reichardt01:24:23 Hamnet (2025) dir. Chloé Zhao01:32:55 Wrap-up | — | ||||||
| 11/17/25 |  114. TIFF38: Sato and Sato (2025) - Interview with Director Chihiro Amano | While attending the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, Ben was able to interview director Chihiro Amano for her film Sato and Sato.Sato and Sato covers the 15 year span of a relationship as it slowly unravels, covering marriage, parenting, and the ways relationships morph over time. In our short interview, we talk about changing gender dynamics as depicted in Amano’s film, how she worked with her cast to create the characters and relationship, and find a little resonance with other Deep Cut director Chantal Akerman. Special thanks to the festival team for arranging the interview and guiding me around the festival, and to the provided interpreter, Ninomiya Yukako.Get hitched at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:44 Interview: Same last names03:50 Working with the cast07:47 Women’s empowerment09:49 Spoiler10:40 Male insecurity12:44 What is love?13:56 Outro | — | ||||||
| 11/2/25 |  113. Steven Spielberg: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (featuring Lee Isaac Chung) | We have a very special guest this week: Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, Twisters) brings one of his favorite movies of all time, Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence, to the podcast as his Deep Cut Pick! Isaac chats about his awe and love for the film, what he’s learnt as a filmmaker from working with Spielberg on Twisters, and his own transition into blockbuster filmmaking. We also discuss Hayley Joel Osment’s all-timer of a child performance, the film’s divisive ending, Spielberg’s masterful blocking, and the film’s worldbuilding and depictions of the future. Find the blue fairy at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Introducing Lee Isaac Chung00:01:50 Introduction to Steven Spielberg and our connection with his work00:09:02 Why Isaac chose AI as his Deep Cut00:13:46 First reactions to AI00:18:04 Plot summary and production context00:20:19 Kubrick00:24:48 Minor Barry Lyndon spoiler00:26:24 Spoiler ends00:28:12 Love/hate and Spielberg’s touch00:35:38 Hayley Joel Osment’s performance 00:41:53 Strategies for directing children00:46:29 Act 2: Jude Law and Flesh Fair00:52:03 Worldbuilding and depiction of AI00:55:46 Ending01:01:13 Spielberg’s blocking01:09:24 Isaac’s experience moving into blockbuster filmmaking01:13:46 Outro | — | ||||||
| 10/19/25 |  112. Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Cloud | “Kurosawa, you dog.” – Eli.’“It’s like edging, in cinema.” – Wilson“What is this, looney tunes?” – BenKurosawa can only make the kind of movie that leaves us both perplexed, impressed and dropping memorable reactions. Listen on as we unpack the film’s critique of the next generation of hustlers and entrepreneurs, figure out what it’s trying to say through its allegory, and finally answer if anything can beat a jet2 holiday.Links:The Kinetoscope: Cinemagoing in JapanBuy our stuff at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro04:36 Ben and Wilson's general reactions12:14 Eli's experience watching at Lincoln16:31 Cloud plot summary20:34 Compared to other Kurosawa films25:00 Sano and the younger generation32:41 Nihilism and cynicism36:42 Locations and spaces40:50 What is this movie trying to say42:37 Takimoto46:31 Akiko49:04 Dorsality51:49 Sound52:56 Productively frustrating critique of late-stage Capitalism56:22 Kurosawa's reversals58:26 Odds and ends and questions | — | ||||||
| 10/5/25 |  111. 63rd New York Film Festival (2025, NYFF63) Dispatch (No Other Choice, The Mastermind, A House of Dynamite, One Battle After Another, and MORE!) | Eli joins the other boys hot off of his Lincoln Center press screenings to tell us the must-watches and the maybe-skip-overs of this year’s New York Film Festival. But before that, Wilson and Ben briefly get their words in for the latest Paul Thomas Anderson joint, One Battle After Another. Catch Eli talk about other NYFF titles like Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, Olivier Laxe’s Sirāt, and possible film of the year: Bi Gan’s Resurrection. Links:Secret Goldfish - Bi Gan short filmI’m walking here at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro04:46 One Battle After Another (2025, dir. Paul Thomas Anderson)13:32 No Other Choice (2025, dir. Park Chan-wook)16:58 Sirāt (2025, dir. Oliver Laxe)20:18 Queen Kelly (1932, dir. Erich von Stroheim)25:29 Angel’s Egg (1982, dir. Mamoru Oshii)31:27 Japanese Film Festival (in Singapore)34:34 The Arch (1968, dir. T’ang Shushuen)35:09 The Mastermind (2025, dir. Kelly Reichardt)38:03 Mare’s Nest (2025, dir. Ben Rivers)41:13 Jay Kelly (2025, dir. Noah Baumbach)42:22 Back Home (2025, dir. Tsai Ming-liang)44:49 Ecce Mole (2025, dir. Heinz Emigholz)48:15 Peter Hujar’s Day (2025, dir. Ira Sachs)50:34 What Does That Nature Say To You? (2025, dir. Hong Sang-soo)53:10 A House of Dynamite (2025, dir. Kathryn Bigelow)57:40 Resurrection (2025, dir. Bi Gan) | — | ||||||
| 9/21/25 |  110. T'ang Shushuen: The Arch (featuring Lisa Dombrowski) | We are very excited to welcome Prof. Lisa Dombrowski to our podcast! She is a Professor of Film Studies and East Asian Studies at Wesleyan University. She’s the author of the books: The Films of Samuel Fuller: If You Die, I’ll Kill You! (2008), the editor of Kazan Revisited (2011), and co-editor of ReFocus: The Later Works and Legacy of Robert Altman (2022). (Ben worked on that last one!) We took Lisa’s fantastic film classes and she’s a big reason this podcast exists, and why we talk about movies the way we do. (You can read more about the podcast’s origin story on Patreon!) Together, we preview a newly restored film showing at the upcoming New York Film Festival and M+ Restored programmes, T’ang Shushuen’s The Arch, which Lisa teaches in her classes. Lisa shares with us the film’s unconventional transnational production context, and we have an in-depth discussion about the film’s groundbreaking use of film form to portray female subjectivity. Eli highlights the film’s use of deep staging, Wilson compares the film with Ann Hui’s A Simple Life (2011), and Ben explains what he means by an “oyako-don” pantheon.Links:Read more about and get tickets for the M+ Restored programmeScreening in NYC for NYFF at Film at Lincoln CenterObey your ancestors at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:01:36 Introducing Prof. Lisa Dombrowski00:06:48 M+ Restored00:09:39 Context on director Tang Shu-shuen and The Arch00:11:16 Lisa's relationship with The Arch00:17:16 General reactions00:23:30 Adaptation and subjectivity00:26:06 Subtitles00:28:06 Female gaze and melodramatic situation00:30:28 The opening setup00:33:28 Cinematography context00:40:28 Love triangle and deep staging00:43:34 Plum scene00:52:37 Source material00:55:28 Cultural context and societal norms01:00:04 River scene and Mid-Autumn Festival01:03:39 A Simple Life (2011) sidebar, subjective realism01:07:25 Confucianism and social conditioning01:10:29 Loom scene01:13:04 Editing for meaning01:16:32 The arch, the ending, the takeaway01:24:57 Fractured images and liminal spaces01:30:15 Lisa Lu and casting01:31:32 The film's reception01:33:56 Tang's approach01:39:03 Cultural identity, transnational cinema, aesthetic expectations01:43:32 Tang's career post The Arch01:46:05 Outro | — | ||||||
| 9/7/25 |  109. Luca Guadagnino: Call Me By Your Name (featuring Alex Heeney) | We are joined by special guest Alex Heeney, the founder and editor in chief of Seventh Row, to dive into Luca Guadagnino's 2017 coming-of-age masterpiece, Call Me By Your Name. They talk about their deep personal connections to the film, with Alex recounting her experience at the world premiere at Sundance and Wilson sharing his obsessive journey preparing for the New York Film Festival premiere of the film. Eli discusses the film's sensual direction, and Ben explains why he thinks this is Guadagnino’s most mature work. Links:Find more of Alex on Seventh Row. They are hosting a summit celebrating queer and trans stories called Living Out Loud. Check it out here.Mina Le: why does hollywood love an age gap romance?Ben’s CMBYN meme videoWomen around the fountain videoCall us by your name at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:01:14 Introducing Alex Heeney00:04:00 Our histories with CMBYN00:21:50 Masculinity and Romance00:26:03 Narrative structure00:32:05 Performances00:37:39 Scenes and blocking00:41:00 The statue scene00:47:44 The parents00:51:20 The peach scene01:00:30 Age gap discourse01:10:42 Homophobia and queerness01:13:05 Cinematography and Marzia01:31:00 Editing01:35:36 The Sufjan element01:39:15 Outro | — | ||||||
| 8/24/25 |  108. Chantal Akerman: News from Home & No Home Movie | We continue our series on Akerman with a double-bill of personal documentaries about her mother, and of home. News from Home immediately follows her seminal Jeanne Dielman, and No Home Movie is the final film of Akerman’s filmography. In this episode, we thread the throughline across Akerman’s career in comparing both films, see the influence of structural and slow cinema, and marvel at her capacity for personal artmaking.Links:Celine Sciamma on Chantal AkermanI Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema of Chantal Akerman (No Home Movie BTS footage)Go home to our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro05:32 Plot summaries and Reactions17:15 2015 critical reactions to No Home Movie21:00 Structural films and emotional responses27:07 Power of the cut33:41 Akerman and her mother40:33 Comparing Akerman with Varda44:36 Private artmaking48:33 Akerman's career arc52:13 Preview for next eps | — | ||||||
| 8/11/25 |  107. Chantal Akerman: Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | It’s about time. We tackle Chantal Akerman’s Sight and Sound topping Jeanne Dielman, and begin our series on her singular career. Ben introduces Akerman’s career, spotlighting her fierce conviction and crystalline vision, Eli loops in a melodramatic reading, and Wilson zeroes in on an ending that explosively caps off a 3.5h opus. And if you’re struggling with how to approach this film, as entertainment or as art, just remember: it’s about time.Links:Behinds the scenes of Jeanne DielmanSlant magazine interview Article on Akerman Wilson’s Letterboxd reviewStephen Gillespie’s Letterboxd reviewAngelica Jade Bastien on LonglegsMake coffee at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.comTimestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:03:03 General reactions00:13:26 The S&S list00:16:24 Akerman's career00:23:45 Plot summary and structure00:29:20 Cinematography and spatial representation00:32:14 Depictions of women and melodrama00:34:35 How Akerman directs Seyrig00:37:53 Everything is "real"00:39:10 Time00:42:14 Patterning00:46:40 What triggers the breakdown00:50:16 Relationship between mother/son00:57:18 Rituals00:59:24 The movie exists as many things01:00:25 It's place as #1 film01:04:10 Akerman's conviction and vision01:07:43 Scene dissections01:13:04 Exterior scenes01:16:47 Existential crisis01:19:12 In conversation with cinema and larger culture01:21:56 Ending01:30:36 Outro | — | ||||||
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Chart Positions
9 placements across 7 markets.
Chart Positions
9 placements across 7 markets.