Cinema of Meaning

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden revisit Martin Scorsese’s psychological thriller Shutter Island , discuss how rewarding it is on rewatch knowing the story’s full context, break down the many layers of its moral conflict, and pick apart all the little details we missed the first time around. Listen to Cinema of Meaning on our creator-owned platform Nebula to enjoy our podcast completely ad-fre...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss competing philosophies about the line between humanity and nature, the inevitability of subjectivity in documentary filmmaking, and the search for ecstatic truth, in Werner Herzog’s  Grizzly Man . Listen to Cinema of Meaning on our creator-owned platform Nebula to enjoy our podcast completely ad-free, a week early, and with additional bonus episode...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the mysterious origins of passion, the struggle between responsibility and freedom, and coming to terms with one’s past, in Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical tale The Fabelmans. Get started with NordVPN:  https://nordvpn.com/cinemaofmeaning Listen to Cinema of Meaning on our creator-owned platform Nebula to enjoy our podcast completely ad-free, a...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the intricate and tragic downfall of a flawed character, the tension between art and artist, and constructing a grounded nightmare wherein nothing is quite what it seems, in Todd Field’s Tár. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30 day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a...

Get started with NordVPN: https://nordvpn.com/cinemaofmeaning Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the implications of confronting one’s mortality, the existential purpose of kindness, and how even the tiniest, most remote places can still form a stage for grand human drama, in Martin McDonagh’s The Banshees of Inisherin. Listen to Cinema of Meaning on our creator-owned platform Nebula to...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden explore cinema as memory, and discuss the complex emotions that arise when trying to put together the fragmented pieces of one’s past, in Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun. Aftersun is available exclusively on MUBI in select countries, including UK, Italy, and Latin America. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30 day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.co...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss Rian Johnson’s Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery; and examine its puzzling structure, its controversial ending, and what it has to say about billionaires and other questionable cultural figures. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supp...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the Sight and Sound #1 movie of all time; the groundbreaking and voyeuristic portrait of a lonely woman trapped in a monotonous life of routine: Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du commerce, 1080 Bruxelles. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the conflicted relation to art; the value and harm of critics, and the importance of passion, in Mark Mylod’s The Menu. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports the podcast). Become part of the Cinema of Meaning community by suppor...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the deconstruction of individualism, the tension between dreams and responsibility, and the timeless legacy of Frank Capra’s surprisingly prescient classic It’s a Wonderful Life. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30 day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the anatomy of great adventure stories, humanity’s strange relation to nature, and the power of emotional storytelling, in James Cameron’s Avatar. Listen to the bonus episode about Avatar: The Way Of Water on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports the podcast). Become part of the Cinema of Meaning commu...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the complex dynamics between money, gender and class, the art of satire, and the question of what really happens when a social hierarchy collapses, in Ruben Östlund’s Triangle of Sadness. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports th...

Can you tell a monster? Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the meticulous craft of the murder mystery story, the consequences of police brutality, and the aesthetics of evil, in Bong Joon Ho’s Memories of Murder. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30-day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the implications of Wakanda entering the world stage and upsetting the global status quo, Marvel’s reluctance to really dig into revolutionary and post-colonial politics, and the struggle to continue the Black Panther story after the tragic passing of Chadwick Boseman, in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Get ad-free episodes a week early a...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the harm that happens when principles turn into empty facades, how they nevertheless can become entrenched in existing power dynamics, and to what extent individuals can stand up to them, in Masaki Kobayashi’s Harakiri. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30 day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning Get ad-free episodes a...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the gender dynamics of stranger danger, social commentary in horror movies, and the nature of predatory men, in Zach Cregger’s Barbarian. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports the podcast). Become part of the Cinema of Meaning c...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss questions of fate and evil in the Coen Brothers’ surprisingly existentialist western No Country for Old Men. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30 day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning  - Watch Lynne Ramsay's We Need To Talk About Kevin, now on MUBI in the US. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a mo...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss grief, relationship struggles, and the differences between individualistic and collectivist cultures, in Ari Aster’s Midsommar. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports the podcast). Become part of the Cinema of Meaning community b...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the beauty of low-budget, independent filmmaking, the intricacies of time travel, and how to navigate and appreciate challenging films, in Shane Carruth’s Primer. Start exploring the riches of cinema with a 30 day extended free trial of MUBI at  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning  - Watch Shane Carruth's second film Upstream Color on MUBI in the Netherl...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss different notions of heroic masculinity, the conflicting excitement of stylized violence, and enjoying movies with ideas you don’t agree with, in Zack Snyder’s 300. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports the podcast). Become part...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the fever dream that is Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, and examine how it created such a distinctive atmosphere, how it used a passive protagonist to offer a unique perspective, and how it invoked absurdity to navigate complicated issues of war and evil. Start exploring the riches of cinema with an extended free trial of MUBI:  mubi.com/cin...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the 1942 classic Casablanca and examine both its specific meanings as a war story coming out in wartime, as well as its general meanings as a timeless story of heartbreak, apathy and reengagement. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link su...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the ever expanding cosmology of the Alien series, the struggle for existential answers, and the savage act of creation, in Ridley Scott’s Prometheus. Start exploring the riches of cinema with an extended free trial of MUBI:  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning  Watch Thomas' recommendation  TAMING THE GARDEN, now showing almost globally on MUBI...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss the power of perspective in storytelling, the real meaning of faith, and the lost art of setups and payoffs, in M. Night Shyamalan’s Signs. Start exploring the riches of cinema with an extended free trial of MUBI:  mubi.com/cinemaofmeaning Watch Thomas' recommendation TAMING THE GARDEN, now showing almost globally on MUBI. Get ad-free episodes a we...

Thomas Flight and Tom van der Linden discuss humanity’s complicated relation to spectacle and horror, how we cope with trauma, and how to tell a layered story that allows for multiple different perspectives, in Jordan Peele’s Nope. Get ad-free episodes a week early and access to a monthly bonus episode on Nebula:  https://nebula.tv/cinemaofmeaning  (Signing up using our link supports the...