Welcome back to The Playlist Podcast, the show in which we review films, discuss relevant pop culture items, or really anything that we think is worth considering. While this week’s discussion may not be a fun topic, there is a lot of unpacking and great debate.
This week saw the “One Night Only” release of the Director’s Cut of Lars von Trier‘s latest, polarizing work, “The House That Jack Built.” IFC Films decided to go the “Road Show” route with the Director’s Cut, with an R-rated cut to follow suit for limited release and VOD in mid-December (though the decision to release this cut of the film landed them in hot water with the MPAA). This cut is the same one that was shown at the Cannes Film Festival back in May, where it was greeted with boos, walkouts, a ten-minute standing ovation, and mixed reviews. And if you read only one review for the film, make it Jessica Kiang’s barnburner F-grade review, simply one of the best reviews you’ll read all year.
On this return to the microphone (sorry, real-life is always the catalyst for these longer-than-anticipated hiatuses), I’m joined by Adjust Your Tracking co-host, Erik McClanahan, to dive deep into von Trier’s latest. Both of us attended the roadshow screening – in Seattle and Portland, respectively – to nearly sold-out crowds. We begin our discussion there, that regardless of our individual feelings on the film itself, we were both heartened to see that cinephiles came out in droves for a filmgoing experience that they knew would challenge and provoke. As far as our feelings on the film itself, well, you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out specifics, but as both of us have been fans of a lot of his previous works, our reactions – to put it kindly – are complicated (Note: We do get into a ***SPOILER DISCUSSION*** at the 38:58 mark).
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Thanks for listening!
Bonus: here’s an 18 minute Matt Dillion interview from the Film Society of Lincoln Center about “The House That Jack Built.”
