The Prestige

Our Latin American journey leaves the South American mainland behind this week, and dips into Caribbean cinema with a 2007 film from the Dominican Republic, YUNIOL. After some reviews, we talk about class differences, telling multiple stories, and how this is not an ‘uneven’ film. Recent Media ALL OR NOTHING: TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (2021): Rob Worsoff, Kyle Dubas, Will Arnett STRANGER THINGS S4 (2022): Matt Duffer, Ross Duffer, Winona Ryder Recommendations HEROES (2007–09): Tim Kring, Jack Coleman, Hayden Panettiere SHARKTOPUS VS. PTERACUDA (2014): Kevin O’Neill, Robert Carradine, Katie Savoy SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING (2017): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Michael Keaton BLINDSPOTTING (2018): Carlos López Estrada, Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal Footnotes This week’s links: [where this film comes from, Part 1] www.barcelo.com/pinandtravel/en/from-the-godfather-to-jurassic-park-the-best-dominican-cinema [where this film comes from, Part 2] en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Dominican_Republic_films [what this film could have been] www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/15-poetic-films-about-mundane-subjects [our episode about the film to which we compared this one] www.kaiju.fm/prestige/5-04-city-of-god-2002-corrupt-space [finally: yes this is about the UK, but it’s still a good article!] aaronguthrie.medium.com/the-representation-of-class-in-contemporary-british-film-and-tv-afc5882dd7d3 Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast

The most recent film on our Latin American odyssey is the Venezuelan MY STRAIGHT SON (2012). After reviews — some more fervent than others — we talk about drama, found families, and whether or not we might have a Eurocentric view of this film’s politics. Recent Media GOLDENEYE (1995): Martin Campbell, Pierce Brosnan, Sean Bean REACHER (2022–): Lee Child, Nick Santora, Alan Ritchson Recommendations THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER (2012): Stephen Chbosky, Logan Lernan, Emma Watson BEAUTIFUL THING (1996): Jonathan Harvey, Hettie MacDonald, Linda Henry [Sam’s last-minute, unexpected recommendation] THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (2004): Walter Salles, Ernesto Guevara, Gael Garcia Bernal THE LARAMIE PROJECT (2000): Moisés Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Stephen Belber Footnotes This week’s links: www.jstor.org/stable/26384822 (JSTOR subscription needed) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telenovela www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-catharsis-definition en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queer_as_Folk_(British_TV_series) www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/film-tv/g9621178/best-gay-lgbt-films Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast

After something of a hiatus: we’re back! With the award-winning 2015 Colombian film EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT. After some reviews, we dive in with a reference to Rob’s favourite theatrical director, as well as exploring why it’s good that this film was made and how it might be important that some people don’t get on board with it. Recent Media THE HARDER THEY FALL (2021): Jeymes Samuel, Idris Elba, Zazie Beetz ENCANTO (2021): Jared Bush, Byron Howard, Stephanie Beatriz THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS (2021): Lana Wachowski, Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss TITANE (2021): Julia Ducorneau, Vincent Lindon, Agathe Rousselle TICK, TICK…BOOM! (2021): Lin-Manuel Miranda, Andrew Garfield, Alexandra Shipp SPIDER-MAN: NO WAY HOME (2021): Jon Watts, Tom Holland, Zendaya THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE (2021): Richard Osman The Jack Reacher Book Series (1997—): Lee Child, Andrew Child Recommendations THE MOTORCYCLES DIARIES (2004): Walter Salles, Ernesto ‘Che’ Guevara, Gael García Bernal NARCOS: MEXICO (2018–21): Carlo Bernard, Chris Brancato, Michael Peña A FIELD IN ENGLAND (2013): Ben Wheatley, Julian Barratt, Peter Ferdinando SORCERER (1977): William Friedkin, Georges Arnaud, Roy Scheider Footnotes Firstly, this is what we seem to be talking about a fair bit this episode: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_revisionism. As Rob mentions at the start, this film is two different versions of this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hero%27s_journey. Here’s the obligatory Brecht link: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Bertolt-Brecht. It’s interesting that IMDB actually have this as a tag: https://www.imdb.com/search/keyword/?keywords=in-medias-res. This reviewer seems to have similar thoughts to Sam about the film: https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/embrace-of-the-serpent-2016. Finally, here’s a link to our FIELD IN ENGLAND episode, for more on a film like this one in several ways: https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454/episodes/a-field-in-england-and-psyched-29626170.

Another Small Batch episode, looking at the the 2021 horror film, Titane Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/

The next stop on our journey through Latin America is 2005’s MADEINUSA. After some reviews, we talk about how this film is itself a disturbing experience for the viewers, to what extent it presents the main character as a ‘femme fatale', and why it works as a complete disruption of the ‘white saviour’ myth. Next Up The next film in our Latin American Odyssey is Colombia’s EL PASEO (2010). Recent Media MIDNIGHT MASS (2021): Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegel, Zach Gilford SQUID GAME (2021): Hwang Dong-hyuk, Lee Jung-jae, Park Hae-soo Recommendations LA MALA EDUCACIÓN (2004): Pedro Almodóvar, Gael Garcia Bernal, Fele Martínez HIGH NOON (1952): Fred Zinnemann, Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly THE PURGE (SERIES, 2013–21): James DeMonaco, Ethan Hawke, Lena Headey THE WICKER MAN (1973): Robin Hardy, Edward Woodward, Britt Ekland Footnotes Rob mentions a few cinematic touchstones for some of the visual stylings of this film: kabuki (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kabuki), the morality play (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morality_play), and anime (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anime). Some of this film’s ideas are also reminiscent of the film noir (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_noir), particularly at the end. This is an interesting analysis of ‘white saviour’ films: movies.mxdwn.com/feature/a-critical-analysis-of-white-savior-films-and-why-you-should-avoid-them. Finally, Rob mentioned tourism, in the context both of this film and of CITY OF GOD; this is a useful article about this, focused on the film’s geographical setting: barbieri.wordpress.ncsu.edu/files/2020/07/2020_Peru_SusTmo.pdf. Find Us On Podchaser - https://www.podchaser.com/podcasts/the-prestige-417454 Follow Us - https://www.twitter.com/prestigepodcast Follow Sam - https://www.twitter.com/life_academic Follow Rob - https://www.twitter.com/kaijufm Find Our Complete Archive on Kaiju.FM - https://www.kaiju.fm/the-prestige/