Deep Cut: A Film Podcast

Tune in for a very special episode as Wilson chats with The People’s Joker director, writer, star and editor Vera Drew about her feature film debut! Vera Drew talks about getting into filmmaking, the incredibly collaborative process behind making The People’s Joker , as well as the tough road it took for the film to reach the public.   The People’s Joker is streaming exclusively on Mubi .  Timesta...

Fancy a little cheese? We jump into the whimsical world of Wallace and Gromit created by Nick Park, and cover three early short films: A Grand Day Out, The Wrong Trousers , and A Close Shave . Eli talks about his childhood love for the series and gives the boys a lesson in stop motion animation. Ben goes existential and talks about how stop-motion brings inanimate objects to life, and we accompany...

Qualley. Viswanathan. Coen. Cooke. In our second Co-Bros Upkeep, we floor it and review Ethan Coen's new road adventure-comedy, Drive Away Dolls . Find out what we think: does it stack up to Joel's solo outing, The Tragedy of Macbeth ? Is Margaret Qualley's accent work tolerable? And is that a banana in your suitcase, or are you just happy to see us?  Driveaway to our FREE patreon, discord server,...

Ben recently attended the 35th Singapore International Film Festival and watched a whole lot of films, and made a few new friends along the way. Listen in on his thoughts about the films, the festival programme’s overarching themes, and how beauty is a trap!! This episode is generally spoiler-free , spoilers are marked with timestamps below! Links DONATE to Singapore Red Cross Fundraising Campaign...

Join Wilson on this special episode of Deep Cut where he interviews Director Neo Sora about his new film, Happyend . Neo Sora discusses how his first narrative feature came about, his love of Edward Yang, as well as his ongoing pro-Palestine activism on the festival circuit, amongst a host of other things!  SPOILER WARNING: We speak briefly about Happyend ’s ending.   PACBI (Palestinian Campaign f...

Join us as we try to piece together Edward Yang’s most puzzling work, Terrorizers (恐怖分子) . Eli describes the harsher and more abrasive Yang in this 1986 film, Wilson recounts the transcendent feeling of watching a crucial sequence set to The Platter’s Smoke Gets in Your Eyes , and Ben makes links between this film’s ending and Godard’s Breathless .  Ben’s Big Face Letterboxd list Wilson’s Smok...

Join us as we delve deeper into our series on Taiwanese auteur Edward Yang, as we take a step back to explore one of his earliest features, "Taipei Story" (青梅竹馬) from 1985. In this film, Yang collaborates with his compatriot Hou Hsiao-hsien to portray a city undergoing monumental change. Ben explores the social, cultural, and economic uniqueness of this period in East Asia. Eli draws intriguin...

We hit our white whale and begin our series on one of the greatest directors of all time, Edward Yang, and one of the greatest films of all time, Yi Yi (一一）. Listen to how this genuine masterpiece has affected each of us as we’ve grown with it. Wilson brings nuggets of wisdom from watching the director’s commentary. Eli talks about how this movie has changed for him on this rewatch. Ben draws l...

It’s about time, after 3 and a half years we got a brand spankin’ new trailer. If you’re new to Deep Cut, welcome! If you’re a long-time fan, share this with your friends!  Deep Cut: A Film Podcast is a director-focused film podcast featuring deep-dive discussions about international, art-house, and independent cinema. Each episode we discuss either a director's most popular film or a "Deep Cut Pi...

Join us as we reenter the lush and sensual world of Luca Guadagnino and discover “il costo dell'ecstasy” in his 2009 film I Am Love. Wilson savours the intentional mistakes in technique that feel like a part of the world of the film. Eli gives a brief lesson on editing, drawing parallels all the way back to the Eisenstein method of montage. Ben directs attention to the powerful scenes of melodrama...

Our very own Eli attended the 62nd New York Film Festival this autumn as a bona fide member of the press! Sit alongside Wilson and Ben as they salivate over Eli’s descriptions of waiting in line, chatting with fellow critics, and seeing the hottest upcoming films from Earth’s top directors at the legendary Walter Reade Theater. Daniel Craig, Mikey Madison, Vincent Cassel… wow! Can you guess his fa...

Buckle up Deep Cut fans! This week we have a special preview episode as Wilson got to sit down with director Ray Yeung to preview his new Berlinale premiering film All Shall Be Well , which is opening at Film Forum on September 20. Ray discusses his jump from law to filmmaking, and returning to his native Hong Kong to make films about the lives of older gay and lesbian characters in Hong Kong. We...

In this final Kiyoshi Kurosawa episode, Wilson brings to the table one of the latest films from the Japanese auteur; the Uzbekistan set To the Ends of the Earth. Ben draws parallels between this film and the work of Kelly Reichardt, and gives us an education on the importance of Atsuko Maeda and idol group AKB48. Eli zeroes in on Kurosawa’s commentary on the camera in this film, as we go behind th...

In this episode, we’re laughing and crying to the sweet melodies of Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2008 film Tokyo Sonata, and its social commentary on the Japanese nuclear family in the midst of a financial crisis.  We explore the film’s construction of a patriarchal nuclear family, discuss Kyoko Koizumi’s unique role as the mother of the family (taking care of all her boys), and go long on her wild narrativ...

Unlock the forbidden recording room with Wilson, Ben and Eli as the trio unpack Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s 2001 ghost film Pulse. Eli explains his love for his deep cut pick of a film that breaks its own rules and complicates its horror elements. Wilson zeroes in on his love for Kurosawa’s use of space and production design to bring on a feeling of despair for viewers. Ben heralds Kurosawa as a prophet of...

In the first of our deep cut picks for our Kiyoshi Kurosawa series, Ben introduces the others to Kurosawa’s License to Live (1998) because he really needed to talk to somebody after a stunning ending. Eli digs into the film’s comedic sensibilities, finding similarities with fellow Japanese director Takeshi Kitano, while Wilson finds himself “so sad” contending with Kurosawa’s trend of nihilism acr...

In this episode, the Deep Cut trio delve into the captivating world of Kiyoshi Kurosawa with his breakout hit, Cure (1997). Tune in to the beginning of a mega series on Kurosawa: director for hire and the master of nightmares. Ben and Wilson find themselves at odds as Ben's annoyance with the film's villain fails to dampen Wilson's thirst for him. Eli questions the fragility of our existence, thin...

Game. Set. Match. The boys tackle the hottest movie of the season and kick off a Luca Guadagnino series with our review of his latest film CHALLENGERS. This episode (recorded pre BRAT) sees Eli comparing Guadagnino to the iconic Charli XCX, Wilson explaining how all roads that lead to Challengers also lead to his own life, and Ben saying he wants to play tennis because “I love my bro and his wife”...

The Oscars may tell us Hollywood’s popular picks, but what about the… Deep Cut picks? Deep Cut’s 2023 in Review is ready to give the last word on yesteryear’s best in motion pictures. Tune in for debates on the year’s biggest hits and hot takes on the year’s shabbiest flops. It all culminates in Wilson, Ben, and Eli’s top three favorites of the year… Share your favorite films of 2023 in our ⁠Disco...

We go back to our Deep Cut roots with Kore-eda's latest, but don't call us Monster(s) for skipping out on the previously released Broker! Awarded the Queer Palm at Cannes in 2023, Monster is a return to form (and Japan) for Kore-eda, igniting a sprawling conversation about the film and its connections to his larger ouevre. We debate the film's visual treatment, the limits of its Rashom...

Join us for a Deep Cut episode on the exceptional 1982 film Moral from director Marilou Diaz-Abaya. The trio are blown away by the intricate script work and editing within the film, and they finally help coin the acronym GFWTM (Go Fucking Watch This Movie) for Wilson to use in the future. Eli and Ben discuss how Diaz-Abaya and screenwriter Ricky Lee can achieve an impactful broader perspective in...

Join us as we SHOW UP for Kelly Reichardt’s latest work: Showing Up. Reichardt teams up again with regular collaborator Michelle Williams in their portrait of a grumpy artist. Wilson analyzes the performances of Michelle Williams and Hong Chau, Eli appreciates the film’s humor and subtlety, and Ben is fascinated by the film’s focus on the ordinary. Together, we also reflect on what it means to liv...

May you join us this December for a Deep Cutversation on May Deepcutber? Wait, this is confusing... what's NOT confusing is the moral clarity of American director Todd Haynes' latest pressure-cooker drama about the evils of our time. While Eli sees horror lurking beneath the pleasant cinematography of Christopher Blauvelt, Ben ponders the omission of a cathartic ending from Samy Burch'...

Bon appetit! The DC Trio are in for a treat this week as we savor Frederick Wiseman’s latest documentary, MENUS PLAISIRS - LES TROIGROS, a scrumptious looking film about three French restaurants, and the family that runs it. From the bustling kitchen to the tense moments shared between members of the Troigros dynasty, the trio immerses themselves in this four-hour culinary exploration. Ben and Eli...

The DC Trio takes a plunge into a new director and dives into the works of Marilou Diaz-Abaya, one of the leading figures of the second golden age of Filipino cinema. In the first episode, Wilson shares his love for a national cinema that is deeply tied to his roots. What better way to be introduced to Pinoy cinema than through a biopic of one of the nation's most infamous historical figures?...