116. TIFF38: Morte Cucina (2025) - Interview with Pen-Ek Ratanaruang and Bella Boonsang
While attending the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, Ben was able to interview director Pen-Ek Rataunaruang and lead actress Bella Boonsang for their film Morte Cucina.Morte Cucina follows Sao as she takes an unconventional path toward revenge against a man who has wronged her.Listen in to hear about Ratanaruang’s candid thoughts on his approach to filmmaking, Boonsang’s initial trepidation and determination to tackling this tricky role, and Ratanaruang’s evolving working relationship with the film’s DP, Christopher Doyle (their third feature film collaboration!).Special thanks to the TIFF team for arranging the interview!Get revenge at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro02:22 Inspiration for the film04:30 Bella’s reaction to the script06:23 Casting Bella Boonsang09:45 Cinematography with Chris Doyle13:15 The movie is made on set17:30 What is love?22:17 Outro
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115. 38th Tokyo International Film Festival (2025) Dispatch (Hamnet, Love Massacre, Palestine 36, The Mastermind, and MORE!)
Armed with a press pass and the Japanese language level of a 3 year old, Ben took to the cinemas of Tokyo during the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival. Ben’s coverage spans a varied 17 films over 10 days of the festival: buzzy and fresh Japanese films (Bring Him Down to a Portable Size; The Last Blossom; All Greens…) international film festival darlings (Lost Land; Palestine 36…), and a handful of exciting restorations (Demon Pond, Love Massacre…). And if you haven’t listened to Ben’s interviews from during the festival, what are you waiting for?114. Sato and Sato (2025): Interview with Director Amano Chihiro116. Morte Cucina (2025): Interview with Pen-ek Ratanaruang and Bella Boonsang (forthcoming!)Other Links:Chloe Zhao x Hirokazu Koreedaようこそto our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Intro00:04:23 TIFF38 Press Experience00:08:55 Demon Pond (1979) dir. Masahiro Shinoda00:14:28 Pale Flower (1964) dir. Masahiro Shinoda 00:17:55 Floating Clouds (1955) dir. Mikio Naruse00:23:32 Love Massacre (1981) dir. Patrick Tam00:29:01 April Story (1998) dir. April Story00:32:58 3.11 disaster sidebar00:36:10 Blonde (2025) dir. Yûichirô Sakashita00:39:35 Sato and Sato (2025) dir. Chihiro Amano00:43:41 All Greens (2025) dir. Takashi Koyama00:47:40 The Last Blossom (2025) dir. Baku Kinoshita00:52:35 Lost Land (2025) dir. Akio Fujimoto00:58:30 Echoes of the Orient (2025) dir. Yang Liping01:00:55 Labyrinth (2025) dir. Shoji Kawamori01:03:46 Bring Him Down to a Portable Size (2025) dir. Ryota Nakano01:07:18 Morte Cucina (2025) dir. Pen-Ek Ratanaruang01:12:45 Palestine 36 (2025) dir. Annemarie Jacir01:20:16 The Mastermind (2025) dir. Kelly Reichardt01:24:23 Hamnet (2025) dir. Chloé Zhao01:32:55 Wrap-up
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114. TIFF38: Sato and Sato (2025) - Interview with Director Chihiro Amano
While attending the 38th Tokyo International Film Festival, Ben was able to interview director Chihiro Amano for her film Sato and Sato.Sato and Sato covers the 15 year span of a relationship as it slowly unravels, covering marriage, parenting, and the ways relationships morph over time. In our short interview, we talk about changing gender dynamics as depicted in Amano’s film, how she worked with her cast to create the characters and relationship, and find a little resonance with other Deep Cut director Chantal Akerman. Special thanks to the festival team for arranging the interview and guiding me around the festival, and to the provided interpreter, Ninomiya Yukako.Get hitched at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro01:44 Interview: Same last names03:50 Working with the cast07:47 Women’s empowerment09:49 Spoiler10:40 Male insecurity12:44 What is love?13:56 Outro
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113. Steven Spielberg: A.I. Artificial Intelligence (featuring Lee Isaac Chung)
We have a very special guest this week: Lee Isaac Chung (Minari, Twisters) brings one of his favorite movies of all time, Steven Spielberg’s Artificial Intelligence, to the podcast as his Deep Cut Pick! Isaac chats about his awe and love for the film, what he’s learnt as a filmmaker from working with Spielberg on Twisters, and his own transition into blockbuster filmmaking. We also discuss Hayley Joel Osment’s all-timer of a child performance, the film’s divisive ending, Spielberg’s masterful blocking, and the film’s worldbuilding and depictions of the future. Find the blue fairy at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00:00 Introducing Lee Isaac Chung00:01:50 Introduction to Steven Spielberg and our connection with his work00:09:02 Why Isaac chose AI as his Deep Cut00:13:46 First reactions to AI00:18:04 Plot summary and production context00:20:19 Kubrick00:24:48 Minor Barry Lyndon spoiler00:26:24 Spoiler ends00:28:12 Love/hate and Spielberg’s touch00:35:38 Hayley Joel Osment’s performance 00:41:53 Strategies for directing children00:46:29 Act 2: Jude Law and Flesh Fair00:52:03 Worldbuilding and depiction of AI00:55:46 Ending01:01:13 Spielberg’s blocking01:09:24 Isaac’s experience moving into blockbuster filmmaking01:13:46 Outro
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112. Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Cloud
“Kurosawa, you dog.” – Eli.’“It’s like edging, in cinema.” – Wilson“What is this, looney tunes?” – BenKurosawa can only make the kind of movie that leaves us both perplexed, impressed and dropping memorable reactions. Listen on as we unpack the film’s critique of the next generation of hustlers and entrepreneurs, figure out what it’s trying to say through its allegory, and finally answer if anything can beat a jet2 holiday.Links:The Kinetoscope: Cinemagoing in JapanBuy our stuff at our FREE patreon, discord server, and our socials @ www.deepcutpod.com Timestamps:00:00 Intro04:36 Ben and Wilson's general reactions12:14 Eli's experience watching at Lincoln16:31 Cloud plot summary20:34 Compared to other Kurosawa films25:00 Sano and the younger generation32:41 Nihilism and cynicism36:42 Locations and spaces40:50 What is this movie trying to say42:37 Takimoto46:31 Akiko49:04 Dorsality51:49 Sound52:56 Productively frustrating critique of late-stage Capitalism56:22 Kurosawa's reversals58:26 Odds and ends and questions
Deep Cut: A Film Podcast is a director-focused film podcast featuring deep-dive discussions about international, art-house, and independent cinema. Each episode we discuss either a director's most popular film or a "Deep Cut Pick": a personal favorite chosen by one of us. We've covered movies from filmmakers like Hirokazu Kore-eda, Agnes Varda, Éric Rohmer, Kelly Reichardt, Wong Kar-wai, S.S. Rajamouli, Bong Joon-ho, and more.
Looking for film recommendations off the beaten path? This is the pod to follow!
Links to our Discord and other socials here: https://deepcutpod.com
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