Episode #80 - Kalyane Lévy (Going Places)

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"The main thing about the movies I show is that I'm enthusiastic about them, and that's how I'm going to present them."

In an age where cinephiles are now open to experiences from every little corner of the globe, something about French cinema will always remain a cornerstone of fascination. At the vibrant Cinefamily repertory house near Hollywood, Kalyane Lévy brings audiences into the illusions of the French going experience with her monthly program La Collectionneuse. Kalyane sat down with Peter to discusses her childhood filled with art in France and her migration to Los Angeles. She opens up about the challenges of a programmer of international cinema as well as the rewards of audiences excited about works of esoteric love (as well as the unique atmosphere of the screenings). Finally, the two dissect a very off beat film, Going Places by Bertrand Blier starring Gérard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere as a couple of horrifying horndogs terrifying the women of France...or perhaps they are actually opening up their desires? 

0:00-2:33 Opening
3:53-8:57 Establishing Shots — De Palma
9:42-32:31 Deep Focus — Kalyane Lévy

33:47-35:24 Sponsorship Section
36:24-57:37 Double Exposure — Going Places (Bertrand Blier)

57:42-59:40 Close / Outtake

Learn more about La Collectionneuse and The Cinefamily.
Follow Kalyane on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Watch Going Places via Fandor.

Let Us Now Praise Jacques Rivette

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"I care more about the grace of the actors’ gestures and the quality of their voices than what they actually do or say."

The names of the French New Wave have become staples for both French Cinema and beyond. The critics of Cahiers Du Cinema like Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, and Eric Rohmer all turned to filmmaking to put into practice the meanings they had pulled from their valorization of Hollywood Cinema. But the most passionaite of those critics, and perhaps the most creative of those filmmakers was Jacques Rivette, who passed away on January 29th at the age of 87. In this new podcast, former guests of the show (Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Miriam Bale, and Matt Prigge) join in a roundtable discussion of the critic and filmmaker. They analyze his films, his writings, and his attention to collaboration, all of which made him a wholly unique individual in the history of cinema. Torn between his obsessions with realism and fantasy, Rivette captured the essence of the medium's paradoxical specificity.

0:00-3:33 Opening

3:33-28:18 Rivette Discussion Part 1

29:00-33:09 Sponsorship Section
33:47-1:02:30 Rivette Discussion Part 2

1:02:34-1:05:07 Close / Outtakes

Read Dave Kehr's obituary of Jacques Rivette, and find numerous resources on the filmmaker at this website here.

Out 1 is available on Kino Lorber DVD and Fandor. Le Pont Du Nord is available from Kino Lorber. Duelle, Noroit, and Merry-Go-Round can be found on Blu-Ray in this Arrow Films Box Set. Paris Belongs To Us is available through Hulu+ and The Criterion Collection. L'Amour Fou is on YouTube.

Follow Our Guests on Twitter: Miriam Bale, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, Matt Prigge.

Episode #58 - Fernando F. Croce (Once Upon A Honeymoon)

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"I think of films at these points where older films go into and newer films come out of."

Reading Fernando F. Croce's work, you get the sense that his criticism is more of an ode to the gods that create cinema than descriptions of moral material. They are filled with such romanticism and specificity that each line feels as intensely sculpted as the contours of a Bernini. So Peter was absolutely delighted to travel up to San Jose to talk about film with the Brazilian born critic, including the influence of Manny Farber, seeing art as a great unconscious that spills between films and beyond, and the two pillars that hold up this great art. The two then dive into the truly unique world of Once Upon A Honeymoon, a Leo McCarey romantic comedy following Cary Grant and Ginger Rodgers as they flee the Nazi invasion of Europe, creating a pathos that includes both sexual innuendo as well as sympathy for the plight of a soon to be exterminated people.

0:00-2:28 Opening

3:24-9:52 Establishing Shots - Rossellini's India: Matri Bhumi

10:37-53:20  Deep Focus - Fernando F Croce

54:05-56:40 Mubi Sponsorship - Boarding Gate and A Spell To Ward Off the Darkness

58:10 -1:24:36 Double Exposure - Once Upon A Honeymoon (Leo McCarey)

1:24:41-1:26:19 Close

Read Fernando F Croce at his website CinePassion, as well as on Slant, Mubi, Reverse Shot, and Keyframe Daily. Follow him on Twitter.
Watch Once Upon A Honeymoon on YouTube or Amazon.

Episode #52 - Matías Piñeiro (Duelle)

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"It's all these things of when you are trying to dialogue with the reality of the shooting. Everything gets mixed into the shot that it is."

When cinephiles think of international cinema today, there's a good chance they conjur up images of peasants walking through nature for an uninterrupted 10 (or 20!) minutes while trees rustle in the wind. The films of Argentinian director Matías Piñeiro couldn't be further from that image, and are also an absolute delight: beautiful young adults mixed in love triangles through Buenos Aires, reciting history and Shakespeare all while constantly changing their identities (and all under 75 minutes!). His films—The Stolen Man, They All Life, Rosalinda, Viola, and now The Princess of France—represent some of the most exciting and unique contemporary filmmaking today. So Peter sat Matías down to investigate his upbringing in Bueno Aires, his adaptation process when working with great texts of literature, and how he integrates realism into his work to find fantastical elements. Finally, they discuss Jacques Rivette's B-movie homage, Duelle, a masterclass of documentary and the magical, and a film with a surprising connection to Argentina's cinematic history.

0:00-2:49 Opening

4:02-9:34 Establishing Shots - Michael Mann's Blackhat

10:18-1:13:23 Deep Focus - Matías Piñeiro

1:14:25-1:15:48 Mubi Sponsorship - Over A Small Mountain

1:16:58-1:36:32 Double Exposure - Duelle (Jacques Rivette)

1:36:35-1:38:27 Close  / Outtakes

The Stolen Man is currently on YouTube. Viola is available for streaming on iTunes and YouTube, as well as Blu-Ray via Cinema Guild. They All Lie and Rosalinda are currently unavailable in the United States. The Princess of France will be released by Cinema Guild later this year.

Duelle is currently unavailable for purchase in the United States. There is a French DVD with its companion film, Noroit.