On the twelfth episode, Matt and Travis welcome longtime Friend of the Show Ericca Long back to discuss Varda’s idiosyncratic portrait of actress, model and icon Jane Birkin. Along with many tangential topics including modern arcades, getting older, and the musical genius of Steely Dan, we discuss the film’s unique blurring of document and fiction and Varda’s insightful use of the many tools at her disposal to present a multifaceted presentation of someone her audience likely believed they already knew everything about.

• The Complete Social: Facebook | Find us on Threads @thecompletepod!
• Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd
• Travis Trudell: Letterboxd
• Ericca doesn’t have links but wanted to include her deepest thanks to the show and say RIP forever to JB and AV!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On the third episode of the fifth season, Matt and Travis discuss one of Varda’s most insidious works of cinematic irony, Le Bonheur. Created in the wake of her international success with Cleo, Varda’s third feature is a joyful evocation of man’s ability to find happiness under any condition.. or a viciously funny and damning critique of the patriarchy, wrapped up in a bright and shiny little package. We discuss the gap between what the film seems to be and what it really is, along with its impressive technique and visual sumptuousness in the director’s first fictional work fully in color.

• The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook
• Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd
• Travis Trudell: Letterboxd

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On the second episode of the fifth season, Matt and Travis quickly encounter Varda’s most famous and praised film, the New Wave masterpiece Cléo from 5 to 7. Made seven years after her debut, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a portrait of a young woman waiting for medical test results and wandering through contemporary Paris in real time. We discuss Varda’s role in the FNW movement, her use of narrative and technical devices to present her feminist themes, and the film’s enduring legacy and new appearance on the 2022 Sight and Sound list of the best films ever made.

• The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook
• Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd
• Travis Trudell: Letterboxd

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

For the final episode of the season, Matt and Travis are joined by Andrew Osmond, a writer and journalist who specializes in film and animation and the author of Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist, the only book in English that focuses entirely on Kon. We discuss his interest in animation and anime in particular, along with … Continue reading The Complete Kon 6 – Wrap Up with Andrew Osmond →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Satoshi Kon’s final film is the culmination of his career up to this point: an amalgamation of his most ambitious technical experimentation and the meta and philosophical themes deeply infused into all of his films, here made literal in a story that provides an opportunity for Kon’s vision to play out in a free-flowing manner. … Continue reading The Complete Kon 5 – Paprika →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

For the fourth episode, Matt and Travis cover the epic and extraordinary Paranoia Agent, Kon’s 13-episode television series. The first and only thing Kon did for TV began as a combination of many of his smaller ideas and story concepts that didn’t have a home but eventually morphed into something more ambitious and far-reaching. We … Continue reading The Complete Kon 4 – Paranoia Agent →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

For the third episode, Travis and Matt discuss the magical comedy adventure Tokyo Godfathers, Kon’s third feature. We discuss the vividly rendered central characters, the small details and recurring motifs that Kon layers into his work, and the departure from the reality/fantasy merging of his two previous films. We wanted to get this out for … Continue reading The Complete Kon 3 – Tokyo Godfathers →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

In this episode, Matt and Travis cover Satoshi Kon’s second feature, Millennium Actress. In many ways a reworking of the themes and techniques Kon explored in his debut, the film is nevertheless an entirely different viewing experience: an uplifting and deeply moving exploration of a woman’s life in movies and her quest to find the … Continue reading The Complete Kon 2 – Millennium Actress →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

On the first episode of our fourth season, Matt and Travis begin to work through the catalog of Satoshi Kon, our first Japanese filmmaker and the first to work in the medium of animation. We talk about Kon’s life and anime before diving into his debut feature, Perfect Blue. One of the great animated thrillers, … Continue reading The Complete Kon 1 – Perfect Blue →

Podcast: Play in new window | Download