"Sirāt"

Huuhujen mukaan jatkuu käyttövät siipyveiköön kastiketään kuinketsuppia, ja apeen ne tieten väärässä ole. Nimittäin siipyveiköön kastiket sopivat Makaronladikkoihin takoihin salatteihin jyneimity, yli ja tieten myös niihin siipi. Uusimpana tulokkalakauppoehylytä löytyy siipyveiköön mangauvan ero kastikin. Makia ei liian ja pienempi ennellä poltteella varustettu kaveri testaappa. Aivan jäätävän jingle. Kaipaatko uutta energiaa? Me forttumilla pidämme huolen, että löydät elämäisissotivan sähkösopimuksen käden känteessä. Asiakaan menee arkesi rullaan, mutta niin fixun sovellukseksi asiantuntevan palvelumme ansiosta. Vaida forttumiin, pohjoismainen valituimpaan sähköyhtiön. Katsotaan katsotaan, että on tullut katsotaan, että on tullut katsotaan. Katsotaan, että on tullut katsotaan? Esmii, että on 5 minuut, että on tullut katsotaan. Ajoa trafiastaan, että on tullut. Alue on tullut katsotaan. On tullut katsotaan, että on tullut katsotaan, että on tullut katsotaan. On tullut katsotaan, että on tullut katsotaan. Stefania Gata, Joshua Liam Henderson, Tonin Jannevir, and Jade Ukin. It is written in direct by Oliver Leccee and co-written by Santiago Fidio. Here to join me today for this spoiler-filled podcast review I have, Dead Bear. Blow it up! And Tom O'Brien. Hi everybody! So, Sirod had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival where it competed in competition and won the jury prize. It garnered really positive reviews. It has since then gone on to play numerous festivals. It earned 11 nominations at the 40 of Goya Awards. And for the 98th Academy Awards and has been nominated for two Oscars, Best International Feature Film, representing the country of Spain and Best Sound. Which is really cool because it is the first ever all-female sound team to be nominated for the Oscars. So that's pretty dope. The movie itself. It is one that I have thought about endlessly since I first saw it back in May. And it's a movie I have not been able to get out of my head. And it's one that every time I revisit it, I do wonder if the spell is going to break from me. If I'm going to feel though as if I've uncovered everything I ever needed to uncover about this movie. And I do feel that the film in some ways is purposefully ambiguous in what it's trying to say. And that does leave it open to I think many forms of interpretation. Which in a way I think is the thing that has kept me coming back to it. I'm curious for the two of you what your experience has been. Like Dan, I know you were with me at Cannes. Tom, you started to do your film festival alongside Dan and I when we were rewatching it. So I'm wondering also even since then that was back in gosh, September. How much things have changed for you guys since then now that the film has been officially released. So I will also refer to Dan. You were with me at Cannes. What did you think of Sarat? Wow, I remember this screening like it was yesterday. I remember the reaction inside the theater when people were just in complete shock about what we were seeing. And I especially remember the feeling afterwards outside the theater when we were all talking about it. This was the last screening of the day on the second day of the festival I think. Yes, everyone was buzzing about this movie. Everyone wanted to be in that area and talk about this movie. It felt like and everyone was really, really positive about it. Everyone except me. I was positive about the movie but kind of needed about it. I thought that technically it was kind of astonishing and I was blown away by how effectively Oliver Latche was able to pull the rug out from under us so many times during this movie. But on the level of story and theme I was confused and felt like there was something missing. And the most that I could come up with was that these people who go to raves in the desert and are trying to escape from the world around them. So the point where they actively try to ignore or push away the world war three that is basically the movie implies is happening in the background. And the world keeps finding ways to reassert itself in their lives and say you cannot ignore you cannot look away you cannot escape. But for that to be the ultimate message it's a lot for just that we've seen a lot of movies that are essentially about similar ideas and don't seem to go to as psychologically disturbing places as this. It's a way that on a second viewing it at the New York Film Festival I found it held together a little better on the level of theme and story on plot but still for me it felt a little under baked in those areas I do think the technical aspects of this movie are amazing the editing the sound work score cinematography even is really good. I just think it's ultimately not fully empty as a story but certainly not at the level where I think it justifies the amount of psychological trauma it's putting its characters and the audience through. I think that after that thing happens that sort of resets the movie and it doesn't really know what to do it with itself after that and it feels like it's spinning its wheels for the rest of the movie really and I've never been able to shake that feeling unfortunately. So basically we're going in circles here because I remember this is what we debated about a can you and I yes nothing has changed no all right Tom what about you well Matt I joined you guys in that memorable press screening at the New York Film Festival and I remember you telling me we've got to sit in the first row. And I said I'm not a first row person that why are you doing this to me but that okay we did and then when that thing happens. You said to me quickly turn around and I did and I see a theater full of hardened film critics with their jaws on the floor but you know I like you man have thought about this film a lot since that day. It's not just for the shocks but also there's a humanity to this story and these characters that that has really stayed with me. It's the kind of experiential nature of watching this film I mean from the very beginning we're immersed in a wall of sound I mean literal wall of sound is the first scenes of ravers just piling stacks of speakers into a literal wall. All of our lax is built a world almost instantaneously you know where the fact that we're on the rest of the world is on a apocalyptic edge. The only thing that matters here is the beat then about midnight way through that thing happens and at that point you know that's something you just don't do a screen or just doesn't go there. And from that moment on indeed as Dan said the rug is pulled out from under you but then you realize that underneath that rug there's no floor. I got a very sense of instability and unsteadiness not from the director but from the feeling that oh my god he has done this and he's capable of anything. And all bets are off and from that moment on I was just glue to it you know I've always been annoyed at movie ads that you're saying that it's not a film that they're experiencing. But I think that surat is there's no other way of describing it it will stay with you it is stayed with me and I suspect it's going to stay for a lot of audiences now that it's out in theaters. Yeah so this is emotionally grueling and intense honesty through the sub scorched deserts of it's setting as this father along with his son searches for his missing daughter who's been gone for five months at this point. And he's traveling I guess from rave to rave searching for her and there's like a hopelessness that already feels like it is part of the films DNA from the early going and it only gets bleaker bleaker as the film goes on surprisingly so as you all are saying I don't know why you're saying that thing this is a spoiler. So we can say what happens been way through the movie I let let people get through the opening thoughts without a lot of size there. Watching this though for the first time with no reviews no reactions no trailer no marketing Jesus. Yeah I mean take me back then like that feeling was unbelievable incredible the bass driven electronic score the study visuals. It was such a sensory experience that I still feel demands to be seen on the big screen yes you can watch it home and of course we've certain people's surround sound setups I'm sure this movie will be pretty incredible but. The communal experience of watching this with other people and hearing the audible gasp and screams from other people when quote unquote that thing happens or even in the moments where it's evoking the best of movies like the wages of fear or sorcerer and it's toy with us like in these tens moments where you don't know exactly what is going to happen next and they avert disaster. But you're thinking man disaster feels like it's right around the corner vote and then sure enough when those moments come they come so unexpectedly still yeah like jump scare horror level that. I wasn't disbelief watching this for the first time I like couldn't believe what had actually transpired because like you said Tom the decisions that all of our leche chooses to bake here with regards to the directions that he takes the screenplay and. They're not conventional this is not something that you would normally do as a writer when crafting this story and I can understand from dance point of view and others I've spoken to how this movie can be incredibly frustrating especially because it puts you through so much and it doesn't fully deliver on any kind of reprieve or. Kevarsis in a way that can be deemed wholly satisfying so I understand when some people say this movie is a nothing burger movie or they absolutely hated this movie it was a miserable experience I totally get that for me this was exactly what you said Tom this was an experience and I don't get many of those I find and for that reason alone. I really love this movie and I do love that even if I like I'm sure all of her leche has ideas behind this movie I know it's a collection of ideas that were born out of images first he had images in his mind and then the idea kind of came out of those images and I think that there's so much to look into here with regards to what it is trying to say of what is there on the screen. And then also what you are bringing to it as well and I don't think the two ever fully come together I do admit that it is a. A mixture that doesn't always yield the most perfect results but that kind of fascination is what has kept me coming back to it time again because not because I'm trying to like on crack something about it but much like how the ravers fall under the trance of the beat and of the music it's a movie that I just find myself getting lost in and that quality is something that I. Like I said on a repeat viewing I thought it would diminish. But it hasn't seen the movie now at this time for four times five times I've lost count actually I'm sometimes I watch this movie at this point I think it's four times. And yet I keep coming back to it thinking that it's going to wear off on me or I'm not going to feel a certain way about it I've uncovered everything I need to uncover about there's no reason for me to rewatch it and yet it still holds me in its grip every single time. A well-built wardrobe is about pieces that worked together and hold up over time that's what quince does best premium materials, thoughtful design and everyday staples that feel easy to wear and easy to rely on even as the weather shifts. Quince has the everyday essentials I love with quality that lasts organic cotton sweaters polos for every occasion lighter jackets that keep you warm in the changing seasons. The list goes on and on and on. Quince works directly with top factories and cuts out the middleman so you're not paying for brand markup just quality clothing. Everything is built to hold up to daily wear and still looks good season after season. Plus they only part it with factories that meet rigorous standards for craftsmanship and ethical production. That cashmere sweater I recently picked up, ridiculously soft and doesn't cost a fortune, refresh your wardrobe with quince. Go to quince.com/nbp for free shipping on your order at 365 Day Returns, now available in Canada too. I will admit and I've always said this that like as an experience in the theater, this is top tier. This is one of the most insane times I've had in the theater. Now it could be a hard recommendation if you don't like techno music. Yeah there's that. I mean if you are not part of that scene or you don't like that kind of music, the way this movie opens up with the gigantic wall of speakers like you said Tom and the sound just completely blaring through those speakers, you're gonna know within the first five minutes of this movie is for you or not. You really are tossed into the deep end of the pool. But I think much of what this movie is trying to convey is all right there in the opening titles where it says that the syrup bridge connects paradise and hell. Whoever ventures across must know its path is narrower than a strand of hair and sharper than a sword from that alone. I think you can deduce a lot of meaning from this movie. The problem I think though is that so much happens in the film. And you get lost in so much that you I know for myself the first time I watch this movie I've had forgotten all about that quote about the end of the movie. And it really wasn't until a rewatch that I was able to kind of put into together more. But I do remember debating this with you Dan at the end of the film about how was any event worth it was a completely meaningless what was the point of any of this and I do think that there is something to discuss here with regards to. There's a lot of layers to this so please bear with me yeah yeah this is an existential journey for Luis and for really for all these characters these non professional actors alongside Sergio Lopez right yes okay. We can agree that there are two ways to interpret what is happening one that this is all really happening to them in real life and there's another level of interpretation that this is all somehow metaphorical and that this actually like there like stuck in some sort of between place between paradise and hell. Okay so right from that point you have to make a decision for yourself how you want to choose to interpret this movie is this all happening for real or is this all symbolic and they are on this path that is suspended between those two points. Because the rest of the world around them I mean for all they know the rest of the world around them is engulfed world war three and it could be the other world for as we know it right now but we don't because they are going through their own. Like contained journey that is I guess like I guess for then the equivalent of what of the apocalypse would feel like in a way because the destruction of their entire world well I thought after having seen it that the practice for these people of going to one rape after another after another. It was kind of a pilgrimage almost religious in its sense that they're looking for some kind of meaning in their life that's apart from the horror that's going on in the rest of the world and they keep themselves in this bubble of raves hoping that the next one will give them the answers. You know just as Louise hopes that the next rave will give him some clues about where his daughter is yeah the ravers I think they're just looking for some kind of spiritual fulfillment so I mean in that sense if you're looking for it on an existential way that's that's kind of how I read the action in this. And then I mean you being a professional dancer that we go a lot about this there's a lot that can be read into with regards to the meditative state that one goes into when what dances and how the rest of the world kind of gets shut off around you. And you don't think about your problems at home or the thing you got to get to the next morning all that kind of disappears and you're just kind of like left in the moment with you the music and your body. And it does put you in this kind of tranquil state where you can have this transcendence for yourself in a way that maybe does help people to I guess obtain some sort of spiritual you know heightened sense of reality I'm not exactly sure everybody's a little different. Yeah I mean for me I said this at the time like watching the movie it really captured the feeling of being at a rave better than any movie I've seen in certainly a long time there comes this moment anyone who's been to rave knows this there's comes this moment where like you can't tell whether you're dancing to the music or the music is kind of moving you to its beat and this movie captures that unbelievably well even in scenes when they're not at a rave. Just when they're you know like being together with each other and whether they're dancing to music or driving on these desert roads you sometimes get up there driving them where if the road is sometimes taking them somewhere. The atmosphere of the film and part of the tension of how i'll relate to play these shock moments really intensifies that air i think and that feeling right because sarat is really not about Louise finding his daughter in the desert you know it's more about how we as humans. I think navigate through pain and loss and suffering our grief and in this case it is being portrayed here as through dance or you can even go so far as to say community yeah there's a really beautiful scene where the sun is talking with. I think biggie and he's talking about how these people are is like these people are his family even though they don't have blood relationships and it's one of the most beautiful descriptions of found family that i've seen in a film recently it's really quite lovely and the way that these people have. Banded together even accepting Louise and his son you know into their group. It's beautiful yeah wonderful shot of them all huddled up sleeping together in the desert it's just yeah it's a maze like family yeah and this is the sort of thing that we have to do is humans in order to cope with the amount of destruction pain and misery. That is in this world that befalls upon us sometime without any reason or logic just sheer randomness. I think this movie captures that extraordinarily well because the the lost that the characters suffer on both sides of their own families. There really is no rhyme or reason as you said earlier Tom as a screenwriter you would choose to make these decisions I remember on my second viewing watching it and trying to figure out okay maybe there's something I missed earlier on in the movie between these two particular characters why do these two along with Louise survive. And rewatching the movie I couldn't tell you in fact all the other characters seem to have more moments of meaningful dialogue and scenes with Louise where I would think today would be the ones that would survive so it really does feel quite random and I think that is the point is that sometimes when you have something like. The Titanic disaster of the 9/11 attacks the covid pandemic whatever you just can't make sense of the gravity of the lost and I know I'm using examples where you know thousands of people died. But even when you lose one person in your own life that can feel like the equivalent of a thousand that you don't know maybe even more so and I think this movie is trying to equate the two in a way where it doesn't offer any need answers to any of this because quite frankly there are no answers to this in life. No if anything this this film is about the unpredictability of life you know it on the story level it is unpredictable but in the philosophical level so it is we don't know where we're going to wind up. And these characters don't either but on this journey they learn a lot about themselves and by extension we learn perhaps something about ourselves as well. Yeah I know that you probably couldn't get me to walk across that desert mine feels oh my god that's it. Like even if you sit mad if you stay out here for too long with no water you know you don't get any help like you're going to die. I'd be like fine I'll sit here you're already over there you go you can find somebody I'll just chill here. Yeah no I there's no way you can get me to do that and you he walks over and he's like how do you do it I don't know I just cross without thinking yeah I just do it without thinking but that's the thing though he surrendered himself he gave himself over to. The inevitability of whenever is going to happen is ultimately going to happen to him either he's going to live or he's going to die and. You don't have any control over that it's all about. We're not only giving up that control but recognizing that you that you need to give up that control. And that's the hardest thing for anybody to do. Because we will live our lives with this idea that we are in control yeah we can go to the gym eat healthy make all the right decisions as a way to prolong death and yet still even with doing all these things death can still find us. Oh yeah I mean I think that's the thing for me is like these these characters at least the raver characters. When we first meet them they are you know they're typical ravers they're trying to block out everything else that's why you go to a rave like unless you just like really really love talking about music. But really you go to lose yourself in the music and these are all people who you know even if they don't if we don't get full back stories for all of them it's clear that they are. Running from something we don't necessarily know what but it's clear that they are and they are trying to. To lose themselves in the music and lose themselves in this rave scene and drive around deserts in order to find it in these like almost mad max like tricked out trucks it's. It is a palpable feeling I admit while watching the movie them trying to escape the world and not being able to. But I still just like after Esteban falls off the cliff in the back of the truck with the dog. This movie it spins its wheels too much I think like it yes and because that is sort of like what the characters are doing they are spiraling in their own private little house because what the fuck I mean like the audience is right there with them we're all feeling exactly what they're feeling. But I think it's taking that to far was I mean where it feels like if the movie is trying to capture the feeling that the characters are going through which I think what you and Tom are saying. I think that it goes too far and feels like the movie itself is spinning its wheels and spiraling and doesn't know what to do well okay bear was pay sure your daughter is missing yeah you don't know she's alive or dead. She's begun for five months yeah now you have concrete evidence that you just lost your son when you be spiraling to. Oh absolutely no I'm not saying I'm not saying that like it's an illegitimate thing for the movie to try to do to try to put us into that headspace but when I'm saying that it maybe it's just like too good at it or something if you want to be generous. I was gonna say because when you say take it too far it's like I won't like I said earlier I can fully understand and admit that this is an unpleasant movie and this is a movie that does not offer up your typical screenwriting 101 you know catharsis or conclusion in a way that I think we're used to seeing. I have had to wrestle with this myself even on the first couple of viewings because I remember especially the first time I watched it. The positives outweighed the negatives for me but those negatives were still there I still didn't have questions and it really wasn't until I rewatched it a second time that. I really just all became suddenly clear to me of what the film was trying to do but I do I can understand why some people would say like oh this just becomes an exercise in audience torture it is hard to say that it doesn't do that because the movie does not offer up any kind of catharsis really. But my whole thing with that is like I said if I can't help it feel like that is what the grieving process can feel like it is like for you know not everyone agrees differently but to me when you're trying to make sense of a great loss and especially one that feels completely random and unfair. Somebody's life being taken away from them too soon I do fake that we try to search for meeting these things and sometimes the reality is there is none. Absolutely that is definitely the case I know that I have experienced that in my own life I'm sure we all have at some point. But I think that the broke lengths to which this film goes to make that point make that point feel rather underwhelming for me. What about you Tom? Well I think that once the drug gets pulled out from under us then I think that the survivors bond even closer because they both have loss in their lives and they know that they need to get to the other side together to the next stop yes and they do it. They do it through kindness and humanity that's what stuck with me in my memory after having seen it initially I remember the shocks but then I remember the communal feeling a true communal feeling when they bring Lewis into their bosom and they're all in this together. In a way that's how many people look at life we are all in this together and we need each other to get to the next stop and in that sense that I think that spine of humanity that even after that thing is still present there guides it through. I never felt that was spinning its wheels but it perhaps even deepened the characters for me after that point. I found it to be ultimately very satisfying a few hiccups along the way but nonetheless the sheer humanity in it just kind of stays what stays with me about this film. It kind of equated also to like brothers and arms like we're in the trenches together sort of feeling not just in terms of going through something really horrific such as this or a grueling or deal but even something like the communal feeling of doing performing arts together or two fighters in a boxing ring and how even though they're trying to kill each other they are still bonded by that experience. It's a very odd feeling but it's one that you get from that sense of community and yeah even if you don't know the person to me that is the feeling of what being an Arab is like you don't know these strangers around you but you're all united by this one thing and for us as humans even if we don't know each other. What is the one thing that unites us all it is that someday we are all going to die and I think that is the essence of what Oliver is trying to get at and I think you're 100% right there Tom is it is that humanity for even people that you don't even know and recognizing that pain through empathy in others. The ending of the movie itself though go back to what I was saying earlier whether in the minefield and Luis survives along with two others and the dog once again it feels so random like oh these these are the people that made it why I don't really know like you would think that the movie would kill off certain characters because of certain flaws that they had or something in their back story that would give you some sort of character art that would make the demise feel complete in a way no none of that that's not sure at all. And in the movie ends with them being picked up by I suppose maybe it's not the army but they are crossing on the desert on a train with other people. It felt to me like a migrant caravan or something yeah yeah refugees but you know what I thought of in that and it didn't take me it took me until like the second or third viewing to finally put together that's a new group of people a new community now. Who have their own stories their own pain their own suffering that these characters will now be bonded with. And it just keeps on going from there human suffering yeah and it's open ended because they're on a train to what knows where yeah. I mean it goes back to what we were saying before right there either heading towards paradise or heading towards hell yeah. Or they're already in hell yeah they crossed the line from having to hell without knowing where it was or how they did this maybe snowpiercer where they stuck out and. And I loved the minefield in its own way is also then a great representation of that fine line because difference between one step this way and one step that way is life and death and. I do think it is brilliantly conceived I really do especially when you consider that like I said Oliver mostly thought of these ideas from images first and then came up with the how to incorporate those images into the movie and wrote the screen played based around that. Pretty fascinating stuff but I think that that's also helping to give the movie a very kind of experimental what was where I'm looking for here like kind of psychedelic quality to it. That's what I was saying earlier about like how I find myself getting lost in this movie when I watch it and a lot of the lot of that is aided by the score by canning Ray where yes I know that most people will often say. Of and say all the whole movie just and there is a lot of it is not there's a lot of like that is so much to yeah yes and it's repetitious and after a while. You know sometimes it grabbed a gradually build and it changes a little bit that you don't notice when the changes happen necessarily and like just like the characters at the radio you find yourself getting lost in the music and that and thus lost in the movie. Yeah especially that opening sequence at the rave is just like God tier image and sound melding it's it's so good it's so perfectly captures again that feeling that you get at the rave getting lost in the music you're not really sure where you end and everything around you begins it's really really fantastic and then there's that moment during the mind feels. When all of a sudden it almost sounds like the sound that they use on SNL to signify they're going into a dream world or alternate universe. It's kind of goofy but it also works in the moment to be like this kind of like oh my god what's happening well was so funny about it to me was the audience is so tense yeah yeah everybody in the in the theater by that point in the movie is hanging on pins and needles wondering what's going to happen and the music will dip out for a bit. And then it'll be like silence silence on the characters and start walking across the mind field and an out of nowhere. And then like I remember the audience kind of laughing when it would come back in because they're just so incredibly tense and they have to like let it out somehow and I don't blame them for that you know the audiences you know deal with tension differently you know some deal with it by laughing to cope. I mean I remember laughing but more like a sicko sort of way like this is crazy yeah. I'm not saying I wonder what's going to happen. I remember I had my fingers over my ears just in case. I was like are we going to get another kaboom and we eventually do. Yeah yeah couple of those. That's why I think Oliver's direction is so incredible in this that he builds up tension not necessarily narratively he's thrown out the rule book in terms of classical structure for a suspense film. But you're on the edge of your seat because of this year unpredictability of it and he always just keeps it in control until he wants to strike. And that's what I think is so effective about that the minefield scene in particular but throughout it's just a slow it's a slow build until you get to that big nice edge moment in the field and I think it's it's really extraordinary is able to pull off yeah like the cars going over the cliffs for example. And you know you're seeing how close they are to possibly falling off the cliff and you're like God that is making me so tens one wrong move and they could fly off or Louise trying to cross the river you know. Yeah all these obstacles that they have to get through with their vehicles and yet they don't encounter disaster they avoid disaster. And this kind of puts you into a false sense of security slightly I think maybe for some people they let their guard down maybe a little bit which is why when the Esteban bit happens you know they're trying to get one truck out of. I think like a pothole or something yeah and he's playing with the dog over by the edge with a ball and it's like Louise recognizes right away get away from the edge go in the car and wait. And he goes in the car and you know at that point in the movie you're either thinking oh they're hanging on to the kid for too long something's going to happen or you're not thinking that you're thinking oh no something's going to happen with the truck that they're trying to pull out you know what I mean. Or you're not thinking of anything at all because nothing has happened yet we're an hour into the movie and they keep teasing that something's going to happen but it hasn't. That just goes to show you what to get Tom like how brilliant Oliver's direction is that he could throw people off so that this way when that car rolls back and Esteban goes off that cliff with Pippa you're in a state of shock. I like I know I was I was like this is a dream like did that really just happen no freaking way literally the whole audience at both can and if just taking completely out by by that moment I think it is one of those things were like we're kind of trained to believe that like most directors will not kill a kid. Let alone a kid and dog at the same time we're kind of like you know we're just like oh like okay nice and tense but don't worry about that focus on the other stuff and all the other characters but what this movie reminds me of more than anything else was that that very famous Alfred Hitchcock quote about the difference between shock and suspense. How you know if you show a scene of people eating at a table and suddenly a bomb goes off that's shock but if you show them the bomb and then show the conversation that's happening then that's suspense and usually that is trotted out to say that like how much more impressive and stronger of a thing the suspense is then just a mere shock. But I think this movie is the strongest argument I've seen that done well shock could be just as strong and element in your cinematic toolbox as suspense is. And what you guys think of a surgery Lopez performance in this as a Louise because you know he's an actor that we've seen before in various things such as dirty pretty things or pads lab breath. And I gotta be honest I didn't feel like I had seen him in a long time in much over the last couple years it's been yeah like nothing on television or film. And if I did I just didn't maybe recognize him or even remember him I mean I'm looking at his filmography now over the last couple of years and I did see some of these movies but I just don't remember his presence. So I'm glad that like watching this like you know this felt like a showcase role for him in some ways. He's great in this I for over a while at can I thought he was going to maybe win best actor because he taps into this this grief in a way that is overwhelming at times without ever going over the top. The next thing is that it's a performance that does it call too much attention to itself I think there is a world where this performance could have gone even harder with its more dramatic moments and it doesn't and I really do appreciate that it doesn't and the moments where he's in a state of shock. And kind of like especially the third act where you know he's walked across the might field not thinking you know it's like he's so disassociated from everything I think he plays those moments wonderfully too. I mean he is he's our entryway into this world you know in that that very first scene we have the ravers and I think I could see audience is saying well this is this is energetic but I don't really know or I don't know this world I don't know these people. I mean not like these people but then as people are dancing around in the center there is this very still person and his son and he's motionless as the dancers go around him and we know at that moment this is the key to understanding this world and he is our guide and he never loses us. Even when he makes kind of crazy decisions like to go off to the next rave he is built up such empathy that you'd go with it I said okay go and when he has outbursts of anger they're very understandable. I mean when the dog ate the LSD infused poop he genuinely angry and I feel the same way too he always seems to reflect where we are in terms of the story and if you if that performance didn't work the film was no more. Okay why don't we do this why don't we get over the final thoughts because they do think at this point you know we've already talked about the themes in the movie the plot we talked touched upon the performances and such but like you know I'm sure there are a couple of straight things that we can get into here. So dad kick us off what do you have for final thoughts here in addition to Sir Gilopas I would like to shout out all the other members of the ensemble because I think they create a really believable family dynamic amongst them they are all incredibly charismatic can't keep your eyes off them whenever they're on screen they just have that aura around them. And they feel they do feel authentic in large part because they are they were found at these things but they are really compelling to watch they don't necessarily feel like they're non actors but they feel incredibly natural and I was blown away by the overall performance as an ensemble in this movie. I love what we're introduced to all of them in the open scene at the rave each character gets a title card. Yes, it was so cool. I didn't know that the first time I watched it because I didn't know any of these people. They realized yeah, it's like it's not watched and I was like oh, this is matching each person that's really cool. Yeah, it was really cool. And also something that you you and I talked about Matt after we saw it for the second time at NIF. I remember the first time that we saw this and come on, it felt really long. Oh, that's because we were stressed as fuck. I mean, partially because of that. But also it's rather slow moving outside of the big shock moment. Well, the title card doesn't display until 32 minutes into the movie. Yeah. But it has a very laid back pace you could say for the first hour. Yeah, for the first hour. But watching this second time, it moves a lot better than I remembered it moving the first time I saw it. I don't know if that is because of the like of just knowing what's coming and not knowing what's coming. It just feels like you're so stressed. No, I'm telling you, it feels longer than it is. The first time you watch it, it's so immersive. And as I said earlier, you get lost in the movie and when you get lost in the film, you lose concept of time as well. So it's not surprising to me that when I'm at a film festival too, I also look up the runtime before every movie starts because I do like to have that in my mind as well when I'm watching. So I knew that this movie was less than two hours when we started watching it. But as we were watching it, yeah, no, it felt so much longer. And that's because not because the pacing was bad, but because you were just so in it. Yeah. Yeah. And you were holding on to every word and every moment and waiting with your breath hell to figure out if you know who was going to make it, who wasn't, what was going to be the end results of all of this. And like I said, it's a very taxing experience. The first time you watch this, if you don't have anyone to prep you beforehand, to warn you. Yeah. Yeah. The other thing that I really want to say about my final thoughts about this movie, whoever the location scout was for this movie, give them a raise. Yeah. Give them a bonus. Give them something. Every location they found for this is stunning to look at. It looks fantastic. I was so immersed in this world in part because of these locations that they were in. It really incredible stuff. I don't know how you do a production in this kind of an environment. I don't know why. You know, you figure you got to get generators. You got to get portal parties. You got to make sure everybody's hydrated. You got to make sure that the dust and the sand is ruining equipment. Like this is like so intense. I don't know who would want to shoot out in the desert. I guess those who prefer not to shoot out on the open water, baby. Because that has its own challenges too. But yeah, like I understand the Mad Max comparisons. It's not just because the trucks are decked out. It's not just because it is the desert. But I think because you get a sense, wow, this was a really tough production probably. Yeah. Yeah. I also want to shout out just my favorite moment in the whole movie, which is what's my opening line. Not knowing what's going to happen. That just feels like a really cool moment. And then she says blow it up. And she does. And. Wow. Wow. Wow. Wow. That's that's it for me. We've covered pretty much everything. Actually, no. The last thing. No, sorry. The last thing that I will say. I really loved the motif throughout the movie that they, the whenever the radio would be on and giving like a news report, they would always turn it off because they don't want to ruin the vibe. I think that is something that is really potent and powerful and reflective of a lot of what's going on in the world right now, especially right now. I feel like if I watch this movie now, I'd find even more. Relevance to the current moment. I think then I did when I saw it a con or even a niff. But to be frank, I don't know if I want to put myself through that again. I don't need to watch it at the time honestly. Yeah. I thought that was a great detail and a really subtle way of world building. And I appreciated that. That's it for my final thoughts. Okay, Tom. I want to movey nerd out in a moment that I really enjoyed. This one way where BG is wearing a T-shirt, which has seen from the 1932 movie Freaks that tout Brownie made. And it's very much the theme of the film. They consider themselves freaks and apart from society. And they literally are apart from society here. And I just thought that was a lovely nod. But speaking of BG, I know this is a subject that we talked about during our Oscar Predictions podcast. And a shout out to the casting, going out of their way to cast actors with visible physical disabilities. Not just the fact that it's giving really wonderful actors, non-professional actors who really shine in this spotlight. But also it's a very astute way of reminding us of loss. When we see them physically, we see the loss that they have had of their forearm or their leg. And it just kind of touches every time we see them, that we imagine what they have gone through. And it's not modeling at all. I mean, they do wonderful things with their limbs. I think at one point they take off the prosthetic leg. A puppet show. A puppet show. Yes, it turns his leg into a puppet show. It's kind of delightful. But it reflects that kind of, that's the way life is. This is what was handed to me attitude about that. It reflects the same point of view of the whole movie. And, you know, I wish the casting had made it to the final nomination, but the fact that voters had recognized that there was a very, very particularly difficult casting challenge. And they, with this film, if they wanted the way they went with it. And they succeeded magnificently with it. So kudos to them for that. And that's it for me. K, for myself here. When they're setting up the speakers in the beginning of the film, and the rumbly of the bass is heard over the desert before the beat itself kicks in. Just really phenomenal sound work. Especially too, because when the entire crowd is like dancing to the music, you don't hear sounds of the crowd. You don't hear any of them talking or cheering. You don't hear any sound effects from any of their accessories that they're wearing or anything. You just hear the music itself. There's a lot of choices such as this in the movie where there's like that one scene where they're watching the news broadcast. And I can't remember the song that's played, but it's the one with the male vocal chant. And it cuts to like the prosthetic leg walking over the desert. And then like the male vocal is an amplified even more at that point. There's just a lot of like leveling with the volume and such done throughout by the sound team that I thought was really incredibly well done to just set the mood and the atmosphere. And does a really good job of like I said, immersing you into the film. Yeah, that opening scene when they're setting up the speakers that is 10 out of 10. I mean, the speaker is coming together and then the light coming through to form the sign of the cross as well. Come on now, cheese. Loved it. Be wearing a wig is a really funny reveal. I like that character a lot. I like all the characters, honestly, they're very endearing, yeah, especially once you get to know them like when they're getting asked about in the haircut. Yeah, it's okay. Yes, Luis's car is so not built for this terrain. And like removing like the front bumper, the bit with the river, as I mentioned earlier, I'm surprised that his car got as far as it did honestly. The scene where Luis is speaking with Jade about the life and death of the speaker and how you never know if it'll be the last time that the speaker works. That is another really great scene for a sound showcase. Because of how loud that speaker is. I don't know if you guys have ever been like in a car, especially where car speakers are like exposed and you can like you can put your finger on them and feel like the vibration of it. It's like really intense and I just loved everything about that scene from not just the overall sound work that was being done, but also just talking to about like just the equivalent of somebody's heartbeat. You never know when it might be its last. Truly shout out to the bad ass all female sound team for this movie. Amazing. Would you have been smart enough to pull the handbrake when when the car started rolling if you're Esteban you're hearing of Luis say pull the handbrake. Are you just in a panic and it's just not like there's just enough time or do you not know how to do it. That's the thing like I don't know if he knows yeah yeah like he's young enough where he might not know yeah, but I think in that moment once that starts going back you're frozen in place honestly. Yeah like this is this really happening to me totally yeah yeah you're probably right. I do love that when they decide to dance the grief and the sadness of the loss away of Esteban. I love Luis a plant before I get. I mean everything about though the idea of hey you know what this might do us some good and the fact that Louise is not even moving on beat. He's just letting the music like go through him you know and it's like he's feeling the music but he's not moving to it and when he lifts his arms up in that moment. I think for him it's more about that acceptance of the loss and giving himself over to whatever may happen next and then we all see then what happens next. There is something about that that like I genuinely hadn't thought of before and hearing you mad Tom talk about it and your reactions how you interpret it. There is something about how all the rava characters date ends to escape or create a different world somehow and when. Esteban does the same thing he's not necessarily doing it to escape he's doing it to actually feel the things that he can't. Feel he was doing it to be more he's doing it to like live in the moment where everyone else is trying to like not so much live as escape the real life moments and live in another way. Be describing his dad when his dad when his dad was dying and his dad's final words were fuck this is getting serious love that that that was really good feel like something I would say. I do like to they have that shot of them up on the mountain looking back and we see. The graves the explosions to two trucks the paths of the trucks before they exploded. It's like that snapshot it's like holy shit we just went through a whole like we we just went through something you know I think yeah. Pretty unbelievable I just really like that shot that that encapsulates everything that you just what witness for the last half an hour. And yeah like I said earlier I haven't been able to stop thinking about this movie. I don't know if I fully unpacked all. Of what this movie has to offer but once again I think that that's going to come down to the individual. There is a lot to be said here about human resilience and acts of survival in the face of. And the loss. And the certainty of our own death that I find to be really stimulating like I love really like talking about this stuff with a lot of people and understanding like their perspectives on it. I recognize that it is not going to please everybody and do I wish that we had. An answer to Louise missing daughter yes I think the movie just like completely forgets about all of that and. Considering that that's the film starts with I don't know like I would like to I would like to have had an answer on that at least especially given that the movie puts Louise through such a horrific. Or deal that you want him to get something at the end that makes it feel like he's going to be okay. But with the movie gives me to chew on instead I just personally find that to also be its own form of rewarding. So it doesn't bother me as much but I can see why it would bother some others. And everything that we talked about terms cinematography sound score all that fantastic. So yeah for me it's an eight out of ten Tom what is it for you. Well I've been flirting between an eight and a nine I'm going to settle for a solid strong eight. Because I can't think of a film that I've thought more about over the last five months. There is something lasting about this movie and it's not it's not the gimmicks of the shocks it's the memory of the bonding that really kind of keeps me thinking about it. It's a mixture of shock and humanity and one fell swoop and it's unlike anything I've seen. Yes some flaws in it so that may be they may explain it's an eight but nonetheless it's really one of the most memorable films you'll see this year. Dan what about you. Okay so at come I gave this a six out of ten and pretty much instantly regretted it. It's the I think the only review I've ever done where Alfred gave a grade I was like I that should have been different I should have changed that. And sure enough when I saw it again at New York Film Festival that confirmed that it very clearly should have been higher. But for me I can't go higher than a seven I just I still think that the experience of watching it is much stronger than the actual. Okay so that averages out to an eight out of ten here from next best picture and as far as the films Oscar journey is concerned like it's an earlier nominated for two Academy awards here best international feature of best sound I think we can all agree though. Happy to be nominated no chance of winning. Yeah both of those nominations are the win for this movie but I'm really happy that they're able to promote them now that the film is open this weekend to get people to see it. Did you guys think that Oliver Lecce was close in the director race. I don't know that is something that I have been like really banding about my head since can actually because I would have thought they would have like switched this and a secret agent like I would have given director to Oliver and Jerry Price to secret agent. Yeah I mean Neon had such a great year this year where so many of the films are interchangeable with all these prizes. You can't really go wrong and the fact that we debated endlessly about who was going to be nominated for best director this year only for it to turn out to be the default five anyway just go to show you how strong this year was that even the people that we thought we're going to make it in. So you know I only bring it up because you know he was nominated for a Gotham Award. He did keep popping up here in there like unexpectedly sometimes in that director conversation not like with you know critics choice or golden glow but. You know I did I did always wonder especially after all those short list mentions at the movie got like I wonder how close this movie is to getting a lot of nominations you know I am really curious where this place in the score lineup in terms of the final vote totals also I generally for this year I really want to see that nomination tallies for director and international feature because they've got. Super close it's so funny to because despite this being one of the most acclaimed films in a year getting such a great launch pad from can. The competition was so intense this year for international feature that I know that for most people. This was one of the films that if you were expecting anything to this this was what number four on most people's balance right. Yeah the thing with this movie has always been that the people who love it really love it oh yeah yeah like top three of the year level yeah yeah yeah. Totally hear you on that for sure I'm just really excited to see now what all of our let's say does next following this man. Yeah honestly have you guys seen fire will come no I have any of his previous movies on you guys you watch fire will come. Okay I think the two of you especially would really like that one. I mean the title makes a promise I'll put it that way. Or a threat yeah. But no I think he's a fascinating filmmaker and I. You know he got a lot of exposure this year because of this film I I'd be really curious to see what doors will open up to him following the success of this movie. And what it will lead to. He certainly has the chops and he's displayed him brilliantly here. It's got the chops and let's be honest he has the hair. I was going to say the hair my god have you seen that hair. Oh my god. Not many people can pull off having long hair but. Oh my god. Any ever thoughts anybody. It's going to be really interesting to see whether crowds come out this weekend to see and I hope so. I hope they do it really this. There is nothing like watching this movie in a pack theater. Nothing like yeah. Yeah I can really agree to bear we talk spoilers here. Otherwise I would have been well that was I will say that like that was it was really hard to write this review out of con because like how do you talk about this without talking spoiler. It's really hard. So there's a thing that happens. So at the halfway point of this movie roughly sings shame. It becomes a very different movie. Well I do hope that people do go to see it in a movie theater and you know whether you love it or you hate it. Hopefully you do have a memorable experience and that's ultimately. What we should be promoting right now when it comes to going to the theater is the experience and hopefully that's a 10 out of 10 for people so. Oh I will say that even though I'm only a seven out of 10 on the movie theatrical experience watching this 10 out of 10. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. All right well that will do for our review Sarat here on the next best picture podcast. You can find me on Twitter at Dancing Dan on Film on Letterboxton Blue Sky at Dancing Dan. And you can find me in next best picture. Thank you so much everyone for listening to the next best picture podcast. We are proud to be part of the Evergreen Podcast Network and you can subscribe to us anywhere where you subscribe to podcasts. Be sure to leave us a review on Apple Podcast or on Spotify. Let us know what you think of the show. We really appreciate your feedback and your support. Which you can also let dot over at Patreon for $1 minimum a month you'll get exclusive podcasts content from us including and for episodes. Thank you all so much for listening as always. And we will see you all next time. [Music]