The Criterion Quest

Trading in the apartments of 60s Paris for a flophouse, Tom & Chris cross paths with a downtrodden Baron and a thief before making their way to Ido ear Japan for a completely different experience in a very similar slum.

Still feeling rather romantic after their outing in the Swedish countryside, Tom & Chris hightail it to Paris where they find themselves catching up with three individuals who find themselves entwined in an love triangle of sorts.

Leaving Italy for the countryside of Sweden, Tom & Chris cross paths with an uptight lawyer, his former lover, his current wife, his moping son and a Count who should not be crossed, all who are seeking to find true love.

Trading the Sicilian countryside for the city of Rome, Tom & Chris find themselves caught up in the life of a old prostitute who is trying her best to carve out a new life for herself and her son.

Having left Poland after the war, Tom & Chris journey to the scenic countryside of Sicily where they encounter an Prince who sees his country at a crossroad, and has doubts whether he has a place in its future.

After leaving the heatwave of Japan, Tom & Chris find themselves in Germany occupied Poland at the outset of World War 2 with a young boy who decides to stop growing on his third birthday after receiving a tin drum as a present.

Leaving provincial Japan for the bustling post-war city of Tokyo, Tom & Chris find themselves joining a rookie detective and his veteran partner as they track down the gun that was stollen from the young cop.

After solving the diabolical plot by the evil Mabuse, Tom & Chris leave Germany for the pastoral countryside of Japan where they join a troupe of travelling actors whose leader has a secret from his past that may be soon revealed.

After their experiences in the desert of California, Tom & Chris head east to Germany where they get caught up in a mystery involving an ageing detective, a crime syndicate, a reluctant criminal and the strange and insane Dr. Mabuse.

Needing a break after the divorce from last week, Tom & Chris head to the Californian desert where they encounter a pair of young women working at a rehabilitation centre who may have more going on than initially expected.

After leaving the rugged hillsides of Sicily and the Mafia behind, Tom & Chris spend some time with Marianne and Johan, a married couple in Sweden who find their seemingly perfect relationship dissolving over the course of a few years.

After their tumultuous trip to France, Tom & Chris run to the hills of Sicily where they get caught up in the complicated world of the Mafia, government officials and the life and death of the notorious Salvatore Giuliano.

Having left the grass lands of Japan, Tom & Chris stumble across a small French town which is being plagued by a spate of threatening anonymous letters being sent by a mysterious person calling themself The Raven.

After finished their tour of duty in the Scottish highlands, Tom and Chris head to the grass plains of 14th century feudal Japan where they cross paths with a pair of women who are surviving by killing passing samurai. However things get a little complicated when a local man returns home from fighting in the war and threatens to upend their partnership.

Settling back into their quest, Tom and Chris are find themselves amongst enlisted men in a Scottish Highland regiment after WWII, where an established Colonel starts to butts heads with his new replacement.

Tom and Chris take a break from The Collection to take have a chat about the year that was 2019, highlighting some of their favourite new films from the year.

After finding unconventional love in Paris, Tom & Chris find themselves on the streets of New York City where they become entangle in a scheme involving a pickpocket, a prostitute, the police and a gang of treacherous communists out to steal state secrets.

Leaving the priest and small country town behind, Tom & Chris head to Paris where get caught up in the world of BDSM as a thief begins a relationship with a professional dominatrix, falling down the rabbit hole of all that entails.

After their bittersweet encounter in Japan, Tom & Chris head to the French countryside where they meet a young priest who is beset upon by the townsfolk of the village he has taken control of the parish of.

After fleeing the bug infested InterZone, Tom & Chris find themselves back in Japan where they meet up with an elderly bureaucrat who (after finding out some shocking news) begins a search for meaning in his life and any possible legacy or impact.

After leaving Italy and their travelling performer friends, Tom & Chris cross paths with an exterminator (with a penchant for getting high on his own bug powder) who becomes involved in a secret government plot orchestrated by giant bugs in Northern Africa.

Having evaded the police following the daring Paris robbery, Tom & Chris hit the road with an amateur strongman and his newly purchased companion as they make their way through the Italian countryside , learning a thing or two about life along the way. Link to Scorsese talking about the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaHn_AlcODM

Leaving the loneliness of the Japanese countryside, Tom and Chris find themselves crossing paths with a trio of men (two convicts, and one an alcoholic ex-cop) as they plan to execute one of the most daring heist in Paris history.

After a short break, Tom & Chris are back on their quest as they arrive in Tokyo with an ageing couple looking to spend some time visiting with their children. Unfortunately, things don’t go quite as planned as lives and families get in the way.

18 days and some 30 odd films later, Chris sits down with Toby to enthusiastically discuss some their highlights from this year’s Melbourne International Film Festival. Featuring Special Guest Toby Zarb