It's scary. It's depressing. And it's a kids' movie. For many children of the 1980s, Wolfgang Petersen's THE NEVERENDING STORY was their introduction to concepts such as existential annihilation, insurmountable sadness, and nested story structures. But how does all this play for someone who sees it for the first time as an adult? Our hosts fall on opposite sides of this pseudo-generational line, and explore their different experiences in this penultimate episode of season 2. Also considered: Nazi wolves and suicidal horses, the connection between harsh parenting and odd breakfast habits, Giorgio Moroder's contribution to the score, and other dark children's films of the 1980s. Plus: an argument for Ween as a rock band relevant to this podcast.
THE NEVERENDING STORY links
IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ BuzzFeed ◇ Dorkly ◇ Documentary
Enter The Void links
iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod
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With influences ranging from Chaplin and Fellini to Rube Goldberg and Terry Gilliam, DELICATESSEN by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and occasional co-director Marc Caro defies easy summary. Maybe you'd better just give it a try? Set in a single apartment building in a dystopic future France, Jeunet et Caro imagine a world of hidden connections, quiet desperations, quirky comedy, light-hearted cannibalism, and a roster of peculiar residents whose dependence on their barbarous landlord-butcher is challenged by an erstwhile clown still mourning the tragic death of his chimpanzee partner. Also on this episode, we discuss the directors' famous feature follow-ups, little-known earlier short films, other movies set in just one location, and the discreet charm of Dominique Pinon.
DELICATESSEN links
IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ AV Club ◇ 366 Weird Movies ◇ "The Bunker of the Last Gunshots" ◇ "Foutaises" ◇ "Charcuterie Fine"
Enter The Void links
iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod
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Directed by possible madman Sion Sono and possibly driving you to the brink yourself, SUICIDE CLUB is exactly what it sounds like, and one of the gorier films to emerge from Japan's 2000s-era horror movement. Unlike The Ring or The Grudge, this is one that hasn't been remade, but its themes of Internet-based teen fads and suicidal hysteria might work better today than in the pre-smartphone era. In this episode, we unpack suicide in wealthy countries and its role in Japanese culture; other societal challenges in modern Japan, including bullying, shut-ins and "herbivores"; Sono's beer-and-mushroom-fueledRotterdam Film Festival appearance; the obvious two best scenes in the movie; the obvious mistake of the glam rock red herring in the middle; other Asian films covering similar themes; and the guilty pleasures of early-2000s J-pop.
SUICIDE CLUB links
IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ "Suicide in Japan" ◇ Dogs and Demons ◇ Sono interview (Dutch) ◇ "Doki Doki! Love Mail"
Enter The Void links
iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod
We did good? Rate us on iTunes! Got a movie for us? Email us at void@enterthevoid.fm!
Robin Wright plays herself in a film already almost forgotten if just three years old, THE CONGRESS, directed by Waltz With Bashir's Ari Folman. It's well and truly bonkers, telling at least two distinct stories—Wright signing away to a Hollywood studio her digital performance rights, and a future society where humanity lives a drug-induced, half-animated experience where what's real or not is impossible to summarize here. In this episode, we're joined by friend of the show Brian Gluckman to discuss this film as well as: actors playing themselves in other movies; other animated films for adults, including Folman's Bashir; Stanisław Lem's The Futurological Congress novel; and how this movie is a long subtweet of Sean Penn.
THE CONGRESS links
IMDb ◇ Wikipedia ◇ Drafthouse Films ◇ RogerEbert.com
Enter The Void links
iTunes ◇ Tumblr ◇ Facebook ◇ Spotify ◇ @enterthepod
GUEST links
We did good? Rate us on iTunes! Got a movie for us? Email us at void@enterthevoid.fm!