Retrospective Cinema

Ryan and Annie begin their binge of Jane Campion's television series Top of the Lake, a mystery-thriller from 2013 starring Elisabeth Moss. Will Campion's second swing at the thriller genre be more successful in the eyes of our intrepid hosts?

Annie and Ryan are transported back to the last few years of the Romantic poet John Keats's life in Jane Campion's historical romance from 2009. Will a return to a period piece also be a return to form for Campion? Will Annie ever find another Campion film she likes? There's only one way to find out...

A Jane Campion thriller? What does that even look like? Is it good? Annie and Ryan debate within, and along the way, dive into all sorts of hilarity. It's a fun one!

The quest to find a second Campion film that Annie likes continues! Will it be found in this strange surrealist 90's indie film? Maybe! Kate Winslet?! Harvey Keitel?! It could be brilliant!

Ryan and Annie see how Campion used her overnight success from The Piano for her next project, and whether a star-studded cast and a few big swings can win Annie back over after being so burned last time.

Ryan and Annie dive into the incredibly important 1993 Palme d'Or winner The Piano this week, but find it may not be all they were promised.

Annie and Ryan reach the early-career epic biopic from Campion chronicling the life of Janet Frame: author and survivor of cruel 20th century mental health "treatment." It is a harrowing, yet hopeful, film and the two discuss what works, what doesn't, and why it has had the staying power it has had.

Annie and Ryan push forward into new territory: the divisive, but often beloved, Sweetie! Will the surreal comedy and family drama mix work for either of our co-hosts? Find out inside!

Annie and Ryan embark on their first big filmography in a while! In this episode, Annie argues for a film she's not a fan of and Ryan argues against a film he likes. It just worked out that way.

New film still in theaters to see, a filmography to wrap up, awards to give, and the next director to still announce. All kinds of things this week! Check it out inside!

Annie and Ryan dive into the weird world of conspiracies and neo-noir-isms that have slowly made Mitchell's third work into something of a cult hit. Will the strange nonsense work for our duo or will they wish things stayed a little more accessible?

The most mainstream film in a while! Ryan and Annie debate whether Ryan's criticisms and confusions are reasonable or misguided as he attempts to make sense of something he just can't quite wrap his head around.

Ryan and Annie get confronted with a strange, silly world of teenage shenanigans and can't help but laugh along.

Ryan and Annie wrap up Dee Rees's filmography with this critically maligned 2020 megafilm from Rees. Will our duo have a hot take or two or will they agree that this just is not that great? You'll have to find out inside! Also this week: Awards are assigned for the favorite performances, scenes, and pictures of Rees and the next director/filmography is announced.

Annie and Ryan experience the critically acclaimed third work from Rees this week and discuss its multitudinous themes and plotlines. Also! This week, our duo discusses Empire in wonderfully confused detail. It's all inside.

Annie and Ryan step into the genre of biopic with Dee Rees's sophomore effort, Bessie, about the "Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith. Does Bessie fall into any of the tropes and pitfalls of the biographical film format? And from where does Ryan know the multi-talented Queen Latifah? The answer to (at least one of) these questions lies within.

Ryan and Annie dive into the filmography of Dee Rees and are joined by filmmaker Ana Asensio to discuss Pariah along with Asensio's new film Goat Girl! Short films are found, Rees's debut is lauded, and the first ever Retrospective Cinema interview is conducted! It's all inside.

Big week! Ryan and Annie talk about Fellini's final film, assign their awards by discussing their favorite performances, scenes, and films across the filmography, announce the next director, celebrate one year of film discussion, AND have a surprise announcement. All in less than an hour! How do they do it??

Fellini has often reflected on his career and what it all means, but maybe not before with such sentimentality. Filled with both major and minor references to all that he had done, Intervista seems perfect for our duo as they, as intended, have seen everything that had come before. On this penultimate episode of Fellini, see if it did, in fact, click with them.

Annie and Ryan discover yet another hidden gem this week! Ginger and Fred is a late-career meditation on getting older and making art that also happens to be filled to the brim with heart. Hear more inside!

Fellini uses the backdrop of impending war to both discuss class struggle and write a love letter to opera. He also fits a lonely rhinoceros in for good measure. Does it all come together? Annie and Ryan discuss within.

Fellini and Mastroianni reunite! Annie and Ryan discuss how this fits in with their other collaborations, how it stand on its own, and what it all means!

Ryan and Annie continue through the uncharted waters of post-Amarcord Fellini and neither find much to love this week. They break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of this allegory for the cyclical nature of society.

Ryan and Annie trade in the childhood fun of Amarcord for the grandiose and grotesque in discussing Fellini's Casanova. Fellini indulges in theatrical artifice like never before, but does this new artistic territory help him accomplish his ultimate goal to skewer the real-life Casanova?

In discussing a particularly fun film, Annie and Ryan spend time in Fellini's childhood and get to experience both the hilarity and tragedy of growing up. It has them reflecting on their own upbringings and laughing along the way.

After both were pretty burned by "The Clowns," Ryan and Annie return to see something a bit more beloved. But will further docufiction work for them this time? Or will this discussion on the world's continual path forward be yet another misstep?

After the bombastic insanity of Satyricon, Fellini partnered with an Italian television network to make a docufiction about his truest passion: clowns. It is inventive, strange, and fascinating (not to mention hard to find!) but is it good?! Ryan and Annie discuss within.

Annie and Ryan take on a Fellini who has abandoned all sense of autobiography. In this new land with no focus on narrative and late 60's sensibilities, will our podcasters find a new side of the artist to love? Will they simply prefer that which they've lost? Find out within.

Annie and Ryan dive into what seems to be the first film in a whole new Fellini style: full color, image-focused wonder. The film is dreamy, strange, and perhaps the feminine counterpart to 8½. But can anything be as strong as that film? You'll have to find out inside.

Ryan and Annie take on a cornerstone of cinema this week. It's meta, avant-garde, and often very funny (at least to Ryan's taste). Hear them discuss the importance of context, what it means to love, and more! It's all inside.

Ryan and Annie dissect the sweet life in an in-depth discussion of Fellini's first three hour picture, La Dolce Vita.

Annie and Ryan have the privilege of leading a discussion on the the beautiful, sad, and hopeful film that ended Fellini's Trilogy of Loneliness. They discuss the brilliant thematic content, incredible lead performance, and where Fellini could possibly go from here.

This week, Annie and Ryan break down what is perhaps Fellini's most obscure film, Il Bidone, and their conversation takes a few unexpected detours.

Winner of the first Academy Award for foreign language film, as well as the Silver Lion at Venice, La Strada opened to lots of acclaim. It also, however, opened to scorn. Some critics loathed it and it caused a fight at that same Venice festival. In the years since, it has had the power to stay and enter the film canon but it has never had to endure this important question until now: "What will Ryan and Annie think?"

Ryan and Annie dive into the first agreed-upon classic in Fellini's filmography and get personal along the way as they discuss leaving the hometown and quarter-life crises.

Annie and Ryan tackle the first solo directorial effort from Fellini and find all kinds to talk about. The film is dreamy at times, farcical at others, and all around something worthy of a lengthy discussion. Does it hold up? Is it as insensitive as the title might imply? Find out inside!

Annie and Ryan begin their biggest project yet! For the next several weeks, they dive into the filmography of a true legend of cinema: Fellini! It all starts here with his co-directed debut feature.

Ryan and Annie finish the filmography of Satoshi Kon with his dreamy final film. As it ends the series, they also do awards, announce the next director, and more.

Annie and Ryan finish up their binge of Kon's miniseries (and thereby the first tv show of the podcast) and get to the bottom of what it all means - or at least try their best.

All kinds of firsts this week! Annie and Ryan dive into their first "Part 1" episode, their first television show, and their first discussion in which neither has seen the ending. Satoshi Kon made a one-cour anime/ miniseries in-between his third and fourth film and our duo begins their journey through it here.