The Curzon Film Podcast

This week, we take delivery of Ken Loach's latest, Sorry We Missed You and talk to the director himself. Plus, 37 years later, we return to the Overlook Hotel for The Shining sequel Doctor Sleep Director Ken Loach teams once again with I, Daniel Blake screenwriter Paul Laverty for another indictment of the capitalist forces shaping modern Britain. Ricky is dreaming of better things for his family when he becomes a delivery van driver. But as an ‘independent contractor’, he’s working in unsparing conditions, just like his wife Abbie, a care nurse, both of them on zero hours contracts. Living like this means that they’re pushed to the brink, and their world falls apart when their teenage son starts to go off the rails. Whatever happened to Danny Torrance, the gifted young boy from The Shining? It's a question that must have vexed Stephen King enough to produce a sequel 37 years later. In Doctor Sleep, a grown-up Danny (Ewan McGregor) finds himself in the role of protector to a young girl on the run from a cult that is hell-bent on harvesting her gift. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Sam Howlett, Kelly Powell and Ella Kemp Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @samhowlett_1 - Sam @ks_powell - Kelly @ella_kemp - Ella Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, for the first time, we welcome a guest for the third time. François Ozon, director of Swimming Pool, In The House and L'amant Double, joins for a hat-trick appearance on the podcast to talk about his new film By The Grace of God Francois Ozon's gripping true-life drama tells the story of three men who come together to dismantle the code of silence around historic abuse cases within the Catholic Church. Alexandre (Melville Poupaud) lives in Lyon with his wife and children. One day he learns by chance that the priest who abused him when he was in scouts is still working with children. He decided to take action and is soon joined by two other victims of the priest, François (Denis Ménochet) and Emmanuel (Swann Arlaud). They band together to “lift the burden of silence” surrounding their ordeal. But the repercussions and consequences will leave no one unscathed. Exiled on a mountainside, the Monos are a teenage guerrilla group. Far away from clear orders, they must watch over a cow and a single hostage. But things go quickly awry, shaking the group apart and severing their links with the outside world. A rich allegory that bears many interpretations, Monos pairs breathtaking, hallucinogenic visuals with intense character dynamics. With a score from Mica Levi (Under the Skin, Jackie) propelling the action, this is gripping, original filmmaking at its best. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Sam Howlett and Ella Kemp Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @samhowlett_1 - Sam @ella_kemp - Ella Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we pull a new page from Olivier Assayas's filmography, as we discuss Non-Fiction. Plus, we share our final highlights from the 2019 edition of the London Film Festival. Non Fiction begins when an affair between actress Selena (that’s Juliette Binoche) and writer Léonard (Vincent Macaigne) is nearly discovered thanks to Léonard’s recent thinly veiled autobiographical novel. Fortunately, Alain (Guillaume Canet), who is both Selena’s husband and Léonard’s publisher, rejects the book, remaining oblivious to the whole ordeal, maybe because he’s having his own affair as well. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Kelly Powell, Sam Howlett and Alasdair Bayman Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @ks_powell - Kelly @alasdairbayman - Alasdair @samhowlett_1 - Sam Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we welcome Marchánt Davis, breakout star of The Day Shall Come, Chris Morris' return to film, a decade after Four Lions. Plus we delve in to our highlights from the London Film Festival so far. In The Day Shall Come, an impoverished preacher, played by Marchant Davis, who’s attempting to bring hope to the Miami projects is offered cash to save his family from eviction. However, he’s got no clue that his sponsor works for the FBI, and in search of promotion, they’ve got big dreams on turning Moses and his followers him in to the next big terrorist thread to America. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Duncan Carson and Sam Howlett. Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @nowolvesplease - Duncan @samhowlett_1 - Sam Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we travel from Gotham City to the Emerald one as we cover Joker and Judy, with special guest Rufus our Sewell in the crown. Judy Garland became one of the undisputed icons of the Golden Age of Hollywood. But behind that success was a darker tale, one of innocence exploited. In Rupert Goold’s new biopic, Renée Zellwegger plays Judy in the twilight of her career. Battered but not beaten, financial ruin forces Garland to return to the stage. Setting ‘60s London alight, she reconnects with her love of performance, but old demons resurface. Drawing upon the work of Martin Scorsese – especially The King of Comedy and Taxi Driver – director Todd Philips has delivered a new standalone origin story for the clown with the cracked smile. Joaquin Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a clown-for-hire by day, who spends nights as a struggling stand up comic. But when he is pushed too far, Joker is ready to regurgitate Gotham City’s hate. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Ella Kemp and Alasdair Bayman. Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @efe_kemp - Ella @alasdairbayman - Alasdair Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

As the BFI London Film Festival takes over many of our screens for the next two weeks, we decide to find out why, by asking two of the festival's programmers (Kate Taylor and Michael Blyth) about putting the festival together; along with what films to watch out for during the festival and beyond. As well as talking to Kate and Michael, we also quickly reveal our most anticipated releases of the next few weeks, which will be arriving in cinemas soon after. Discussing the films this week are Kelly Powell and Sam Howlett. Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @ks_powell - Kelly Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Jake Cunningham  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode, we talk about the film that has smashed even Avengers Endgame's box office record, Lulu Wang's The Farewell. Plus, we talk to the director all about her film. First up though, is For Sama. When the Arab Spring came to Syria in 2012, Waad al-Kateab picked up her camera and began filming the revolution. For five years, under Assad’s brutal assault, she kept filming. For Sama captures that journey, as she marries her partner Hamza al-Kateab, and gives birth to her daughter Sama. The film becomes a justification to their daughter of why they remained in a war zone, capturing not just the daily assaults Hamza faces as a frontline doctor, but also the joys, passions and quiet moments of their friends and family. In The Farewell, Billi (Awkwafina) is called back from New York to her native China because her beloved grandmother is facing her last days. Yet, in accordance with tradition, this news is kept from the matriarch herself. Keeping up the pretence of a family wedding while reconnecting and grieving, we follow Billi on a funny, deeply moving exploration of the meaning of home and family. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Kelly Powell, Steven Ryder and Sam Howlett. Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @ks_powell - Kelly @irma_pep - Steven @samhowlett_1 - Sam Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we get in to the Gray matters of space travel with James Gray, director of galactic sized interstellar therapy session Ad Astra. Plus, we roll out for a royal visit to Downton Abbey. In Ad Astra, astronaut Roy McBride (Brad Pitt) travels to the outer edges of the solar system to find his missing father and unravel a mystery that threatens the survival of our planet. His journey will uncover secrets that challenge the nature of human existence and our place in the cosmos. It's 1927, the jazz age is in full swing, and Downton Abbey is anticipating a visit from none other than the King and Queen. Inhabitants, relatives and servants swing into action but can the silver be polished in time? This is a lavish and cinematic version of Julian Fellowes’s country house drama but can it bring a satisfying conclusion to the much loved saga? Discussing the film this week are Sam Howlett, Jake Cunningham and Steph Watts Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @_stephwatts - Steph @samhowlett_1 - Sam @MarkDTowers - Mark Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we go from small-town Cornwall to small-town Maine, looking at the highly acclaimed British film Bait and the sequel to the biggest horror film of all time It Chapter Two, as well as speaking to the films' director Andy Muschietti. Bait looks at the effects of gentrification in a small fishing town in Cornwall. Shot in dramatic black-and-white on a 16mm camera, this is an impressive debut from director Mark Jenkin. It Chapter Two takes place 27 years after the events of the first film. The Losers Club are now all grown up, but the resurgence of Pennywise AKA It brings them back to Derry to face the monster from their childhood.    See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we snag a couple of souvenir guests in the form of director Joanna Hogg and music supervisor Ilona Cheshire, who give us their unique insights in to one of the most acclaimed films of 2019 The Souvenir is about Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne), a young film student struggling to find a firm direction in life when she meets the unwavering and decisive Tom Burke’s Anthony. The two  take to one another and an intense romance blossoms, however, as the relationship develops it becomes clear that Anthony is not being honest about all aspects of himself... Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Sam Howlett and Caitlin Quinlan. Follow the team on Twitter: @ks_powell - Kelly @jakehcunningham - Jake @csaquinlan - Caitlin Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we discuss the devilish double bill that is Penny Lane's satanic temple documentary Hail Satan? and Pedro Almodóvar's sumptuous, melancholic reverie Pain and Glory Penny Lane’s film Hail Satan? May not be as demonic as the title suggests. It’s a documentary about the satanists steadfastly working to preserve the separation of church and state. In three years their members rose from just three, to over 100,000, including by the end, the film’s director. Director Salvador Mallo (played by Antonio Banderas) is called to revisit one of his early career triumphs. But the new restoration of his film also restores his connection with estranged friends, and shakes loose old memories. The film moves back and forth between recollections of his mother (played by Penélope Cruz), his early sexual awakening and his current, heroin lined state of listlessness Discussing the film this week are Sam Howlett, Jake Cunningham and Steph Watts Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @_stephwatts - Steph @samhowlett_1 - Sam Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Quentin Tarantino’s joins us on the podcast this week, day tripping back to 1969 with his new film Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood. Plus, we review Christian Petzold's new film Transit. Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature is a kaleidoscopic tale of Hollywood backlots, rising starlets and fading stars, hippies and squares, the great and good of tinsel town, the most definitely bad of the golden state, and the ugliness of them rubbing against one another. Our guides through this culture clash are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his affable stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), who stumble upon something far more sinister than a new kind of Hollywood star. When fleeing Paris after the German invasion, Georg (Franz Rogowski) escapes to Marseille, assuming the identity of a dead author whose papers he possesses. With nowhere to turn, he is confined to the corridors of a small hotel, the consulates, cafés and bars that line the harbour. Everything changes when Georg falls in love with the mysterious Marie (Paula Beer) who is desperate to find her missing husband. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Kelly Powell, Hannah Woodhead and Sam Howlett. Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @ks_powell - Kelly @goodjobliz - Hannah @samhowlett_1 - Sam Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week the cinema is jammed with broken heroes on a last chance power drive. We're talking to Gurinder Chadha (director of Bend it Like Beckham) about her Springsteen infused brit-musical Blinded By The Light, plus we ask whether new Willem Dafoe film Opus Zero is an Opus Hero, or whether it lives up to its name... It's 1987, and it's not easy being British Pakistani in a commuter town living through the tatters of Thatcher's Britain. But salvation arrives in the unlikely shape of Bruce Springsteen, whose tales of ragged working class glory ignite a new confidence in Javed. Taking Sarfraz Manzoor’s memoir and digging deep into the cross-cultural connections between Bury Park, Luton and Asbury Park, New Jersey, Blinded By The Light is a feel good British story powered by the bulletproof music of The Boss. Paul, a composer, arrives in a remote Mexican village where his father has passed away. As his attention shifts to the fate of a missing woman, Paul must come to terms with the memory of his father and the uncertainty of his future. Discussing the films this week are Jake Cunningham, Ella Kemp and Sam Howlett. Follow the team on Social Media: @jakehcunningham - Jake @ks_powell - Kelly @efe_kemp - Ella @samhowlett_1 - Sam Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode we delve in to the intimate pairing setting hearts racing across the globe: Hobbs and Shaw, plus we talk to Ritesh Batra - director of The Lunchbox - about his new film Photograph. The latest from writer-director Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox), Photograph is a charming tale of unlikely romance set against the vibrant backdrop of contemporary Mumbai. Rafi (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) is a struggling street photographer who takes tourist portraits at the Gateway of India. When he meets Miloni (Sanya Malhotra), a shy stranger from an affluent family, he convinces her to pose as his fiancée after his overbearing grandmother decides to pay him a visit. Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham take an offramp from the juggernaut Fast & Furious convoy for this stand alone tale featuring two of the series favourite characters. Rogue outsider Shaw (Statham) and US agent Hobbs (Johnson) are forced put their deep loathing for each other aside to fight back against Idris Elba’s Brixton, a genetically enhanced super villain. Discussing the films this week are podcast regulars Sam Howlett, Ed Frost, Kelly Powell and Jake Cunningham Follow the team on Twitter: @SamHowlett_1 - Sam Howlett @jakehcunningham - Jake Cunningham @ks_powell - Kelly Powell Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the middle of the biggest heat wave the UK has seen in a long time, we discuss what we think are the hottest films of 2019. From the roundly praised Burning to the love it or hate it Under the Silver Lake, via a hulk-smashing superhero team-up and the mystical birds of Colombia, here are the best films of 2019 so far... Discussing the films this week are podcast regulars Sam Howlett, Kelly Powell and Jake Cunningham, with special guest appearances from Curzon staff members Ed Frost, Fern Beattie, Caitlin Smith and Ulysse Kelbert. Follow the team on Twitter: @SamHowlett_1 - Sam Howlett @jakehcunningham - Jake Cunningham @ks_powell - Kelly Powell Produced by Jake Cunningham Edited by Mark Towers  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.