Listening to Your Conscience - 'Pinocchio' (2022) d. Guillermo del Toro & Mark Gustafson, 'Heathers' (1988) d. Michael Lehmann & 'Donnie Darko' (2001) d. Richard Kelly
What is the relationship between the conscience and the self? Can listening to our conscience ever be a bad thing? If not our conscience, what should we listen to? Building on some brief discussions i...
4 Feb 202329min
Going Undercover - 'Mean Girls' (2004) d. Mark Waters, 'The Departed' d. Martin Scorsese & 'Le Doulos' (1962) d. Jean-Pierre Melville
How can going undercover threaten our identity? What kinds of people go undercover? Can we ever reach a point of no return when going undercover? Following recent discussions about the relationship be...
29 Jan 202329min
Dark Knights - 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' (2001) d. Chris Columbus, '12 Angry Men' (1957) d. Sidney Lumet & 'Ladybird' (2017) d. Greta Gerwig
Are the people we hate always our true enemies? Can personal flaws ever be a badge of honour? Are we adept at recognising hate in ourselves? Building on last week's conversation about the relationship...
22 Jan 202329min
21st Century Vigilance - 'Saw' (2004) d. James Wan, 'V for Vendetta' (2005) d. James McTeigue & 'The Dark Knight' (2008) d. Christopher Nolan
What is the nature of state control in the 21st century? When do the ends justify the means? Can we simultaneously act righteously and avoid enemy attacks? Focusing specifically on films set in the mi...
15 Jan 202329min
Containing the Year - 'The Apartment' (1960) d. Billy Wilder, 'My Night at Maud's' (1969) d. Éric Rohmer & 'When Harry Met Sally' (1989) d. Rob Reiner
What is the relationship between people and space? How should we compartmentalise people and key life events? Can we meet people more than once? As we say goodbye to 2022, this week's episode examines...
25 Des 202229min
A Kafkaesque Christmas - 'Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life' (1993) d. Peter Capaldi, 'Brazil' (1985) d. Terry Gilliam & 'Eyes Wide Shut' (1999) d. Stanley Kubrick
Under what circumstances do we seek isolation? Can systems designed to serve us ever imprison us? Can we ever be imprisoned by desire? As we enter the final weeks of December 2022, this week's episode...
18 Des 202229min
Russia, Part II - 'Battleship Potemkin' (1925) d. Sergei Eisenstein, 'Mirror' (1975) d. Andrei Tarkovsky & 'The Sacrifice' (1986) d. Andrei Tarkovsky
How can social change be instantly ignited? Are human beings doomed to a prison of idealism? How should we act in the wake of annihilation? To conclude our two-week series on Russia, this week's episo...
11 Des 202229min
Russia, Part I - 'Kompromat' (2022) d. Jérôme Salle, 'Andrei Rublev' (1966) d. Andrei Tarkovsky & 'Ivan the Terrible Parts, I & II' d. Sergei Eisenstein
What does Russia feel that it has to protect? What is required when establishing a cultural identity? What is required to protect a cultural identity? With the recent release of 'Kompromat', both this...
4 Des 202229min
