Same Curve, Opposite Ends - UNBREAKABLE (2000)

08/02/22 • 54 min

Real life doesn't fit into little boxes that were drawn for it - and surely, the ambitions of this week's high concept exploration of the superhero by M. Night Shyamalan can hardly fit into this episode. In Unbreakable, Bruce Willis' David Dunn learns he is nigh-invincible following a deadly train crash, as Samuel L. Jackson's enigmatic Elijah Price observes his progress and guides him to use his gifts in the service of others. Speaking 22 years after the release of a film that was very much on the vanguard of comic book properties in studio filmmaking, this episode conducts a retrospective analysis of this film's metafictional aesthetics, Shyamalan narrative toolbox, and the budding "rivalry" between mediums - comic books and film!
Denis Mellier's Article - "World Building and Metafiction in Contemporary Comic Books Metalepsis and Figurative Process of Graphic Fiction"

Previous Episode

Nirvana Nor Nostalgia - INHERENT VICE (2014)

It's groovy being insane - surely the modus operandi of Paul Thomas Anderson's hippie noir vision in 2014's INHERENT VICE, an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's eponymous novel. A renaissance detective's odyssey through Los Angeles high life and cults reveals fissures in his own recollection of an ephemeral ex-girlfriend, aided in no small part by the filmmakers' intertextual connectivity, needle drops, and highly calculated camera work. Join your hosts as they knock down the proverbial door on this delightfully grainy and psychedelic jigsaw puzzle, in an investigation on perhaps the most thorny text of one of the best storytellers working today!
Adam Nayman's Book: "Paul Thomas Anderson's Masterworks". Link proceeds to TIFF's online shop, but available wherever books are sold! Support local bookstores whenever possible :)

Next Episode

Illusions of Grandeur - LA NOTTE (1961)

An examination of a dolce vita losing its vigor, Michelangelo Antonioni's efforts in this 1961 neorealist effort turns its viewfinder towards Italy's alienated upper class. Marcello Mastroianni, Jeanne Moreau, and Monica Vitti form one of cinema's most formidable acting trios as they meander through the claustrophobic downtowns and dysphoric villas of Milan; much as their passions threaten to burst from their sublimated seams, the film's form is an equal masterclass in inviting viewer interpretation through its deep space compositions and tragic dialogue. Join your hosts on their trip to Italy's concrete jungle, as they grapple with the ambiguity raised by the film's cinematography, restrained performances, and adventurous use of neorealist style!
Kevin Catalano's Article - "Antonioni the Architect: ARNHEIM, SPACE, AND THE POST-WAR WORLDS OF LA NOTTE AND L’ECLISSE"