285: In the Mood for Kristina Klebe

This is Jess Weixler and you. Are listening to Movie Meltdown. I should go higher with that. Hi, this is Jess Weixler and you are listening to Movie Meltdown. Too much no you can never do too much.

On this. Show the following feature has been rated r by the motion picture association of america it is intended for mature audiences and parental discretion is advised. It's showtime, folks. Enjoy the show. Our nuclear reactor pumping out.

One million kilowatts of power. Provide more cooling in the containment chamber. To your stations, we have a movie meltdown. But when Christina came into this world, something in me changed. I knew what I was put on the planet for.

It was the greatest feeling I ever had. What's up and. Welcome to Movie Meltdown. I'm Brian. I'm Ken.

I'm Christian. And we're coming to you live via digital recording from Skylight Bistro and Wine Bar in the lovely Marriott. One of those convention things. So, how has your weekend been? Maybe we'll omit certain facts that don't need to be passed along.

I won't share everything that went on, but. I will. No, I'm kidding. In between some of my unfortunate circumstances, as a result of some wonderful pizza. I've had a really great time.

It's been a good time. It's been a different convention this time around. Conventions are always, you never know what to expect, you know. You know certain things will happen. You probably will have a hangover.

You probably will not have any sleep. You probably will meet, you know, friends that you've known for a long time but never see other than conventions. You'll meet some new people, you know. Um, but yeah, this was, it's been kind of low key and kind of mellow and getting to know old friends better. And, um, yeah, getting to see some crazy celebrities and.

It's been fun cause we stayed on the same floor as some of the celebrities. And so I actually haven't gotten any autographs this time around or went and met anybody or anything like that. But I've talked to a few celebrities walking down the hall, waiting for the elevator and I didn't even necessarily know exactly who it was. I just knew it was a celebrity because they had that celebrity swag. And so I was like, hey, what's going on?

Like, who's that one guy? James Remar. Yeah. From the Warriors. Ajax.

Dexter's dad. He's probably better known for that. Yeah, we were waiting on the elevator together and. Oh, no, this is a different guy. Oh, no, no, no, not that guy.

Oh, okay. Yeah, the other guy. We'll take that story back. The other guy was William Sadler from, what, Die Hard 2 and Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey. Bogus Journey, yeah.

And Tales of the Crypt Demon Knight. Yeah. And look it up on IMDb. Well, in any case, we were in on the elevator together and. I was just like, hey, you doing okay?

Because he was kind of like coughing and kind. Of like, whoa. I was like, are you okay? And he was like, oh, I just smoked a cigar. And I was like, yeah, I guess you're feeling it, huh?

And he was like, huh. And then like hurried up and got on the tiny elevator and like rushed up to the fifth floor. And I was like, thanks. I guess I'll get in this one. Hey, congratulations.

No. And then who are we talking to about the cooler? Oh, James Remar. No, no, no. The other guy.

Bill Moseley? Yeah, Moseley. Yeah, we were talking to him about the amazing traveling cooler that was on the fifth floor. Yeah. So.

Just in case you were wondering what that is. Yeah, there was a random cooler that was hanging out in the hallway. Was that their Friday night? It was, yeah, it's been there the whole time that we've been here. It was just sitting at the front of the hallway and then by Saturday it just started migrating around the hall.

It was like a big long hallway with all the doors. And like every, like I went there like three or four times I went down that hallway that night. And like each time it was at a different spot in the hallway or it was. Directly in front of our door. In front of the door, yeah.

And then it was moved further down the hallway. And it just kept migrating. It was kind of entertaining. Do you think it was Mosley that was doing it? He specifically was talking to me and Justin about it.

And was like, yeah, he was like, that thing just keeps traveling down the hallway. And it's like, hmm, are you trying to be funny, Mr. Mosley? He is pretty entertaining. Ghost cooler.

Spooky. Spooky. Spooky cooler. It's like Richard Scarry. Scarry.

Richard Scarry. Oh, Richard Scarry. Hey, I'm a pig. I'm wearing lederhosen. Scary, no?

I'm a worm and I drive an apple. Blah. Lowly is awesome. The dude has no arms, drives a car. He's awesome.

He owns a shoe. A shoe. And he wears it. And a hat with a feather in it. Pretty amazing.

How does he tie his laces? Carefully. Scary, no? Woo! A boo.

That's who they need here at one of these conventions is Count Floyd. That would be awesome. I can't believe he hadn't started doing those. At this point, why would he not be like, yeah, he could host the whole event, the movies night. It would be awesome.

That would be so great. Just the crappiest. They could not even be... Honestly, there's enough crappy filmmakers at any one of these conventions that they could just throw their stuff up and try to be proud of it, and then he could just totally tear it down, which would be great. It's kind of what I'm planning with our possible upcoming movie nights.

I really do want it to be pretty close to a Count Floyd kind of a thing. That's awesome. If you don't know who Count Floyd is, there was a show in the 80s, right? SCTV. Yeah, SCTV, Second City Television.

It was the sister, kind of, or brother to, the Canadian brother to Saturday Night Live. It's where John Candy got his start, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, so many others. But one of the characters, it was Joe Flaherty, came up with this character, Count Floyd, who was on a low-budget, low-cable-access channel. who had, like, a T-shirt and a cape. And he had access to a lot of shitty movies. And it was, yeah, Count Floyd.

So, yeah, they're pretty genius. You can find a lot of that stuff on YouTube, like anything else. But, yeah, he's just got the best voice for this kind of stuff. You know, it's great. In three days.

There's a lot of that. What was the one that was, like, The Wolfman's House of Pancakes or something. It was like in 3D. And John Candy was like the butler. It was awesome.

It's just classic. But anyway, Count Floyd, awesome. This show is just weird. If you haven't been to one of these, I don't know what you're doing, but you really need to check it out because it's fans that love this stuff, which is great and which is also fun to just look at and go, what is that about? But, you know.

It's way better people watching than going to the mall. It is. Oh, yeah. Any day. I mean, we did sit down here to record this, and Michael Berryman was at the bar.

So I was like, oh, you don't see that every day. Unless you're at a horror convention. Yeah, right. Yeah, and, you know, like James Remar. Here's my James Remar story, exciting as it was.

Walking in, getting our hotel room, and we're both kind of just, you know, trying to figure out where we're at and what's going on. And I look up and I see a guy approaching us. And I'm like, hey. And he goes, hey. I walk by.

And no sooner than the guy turned the hallway, I went to Christian and I'm like, that was James Rewar. That was Ajax from the Warriors. No, no. He started it with, oh my God, do you know who that was? Surely within his ear.

Oh, yeah. We weren't even in the door. Do you know who that was? He's like, jerk. I hate coming to these things.

Then I saw him last night, and we were in a crowd, and he had a couple of beers with me at that point. He was walking by, and he had a big smile on his face. I was like, hey, and he just kept walking. He's like, I don't want to get involved. It might have been that was probably afterwards because we also saw him when he was heading to the elevator we actually had the one two bunch we had bill mosley go by and then james remar and then so they went down the stairs because they don't want to be trapped on the elevator with the likes of us and i don't blame them but When we got down, we were going to eat and we were driving down the road and they were walking on the sidewalk.

So it was just them and a third guy that I don't know who he was that was just kind of hanging out with them. And they were walking down the street, I guess, going to dinner. And then we were trying to figure out, well, like walking distance, like we hope they're going to the hotel up the street that has a restaurant built in, you know. But I was like, if not, our choices are like Subway and Arby's. So then I'm like, then I'm trying to picture this like chop top going to Arby's.

And I'm just like, y'all got fresh meat back there? Let me come back and chainsaw it up for you. I'm picturing him going in and just snapping into Chop Top mode. So, yeah, I don't know that he actually did that. He's actually relatively calm in the real world.

He's an awesome guy, but I'm just picturing Chop Top at the Arby's. He's also really good at bird calls. I don't know if you've ever noticed that. But, yeah, one of the first conventions I was at, I was at a table with a friend of mine, and next to us in the next booth was Bill Mosley– Richard Lynch from Invasion USA and Bad Dreams. Every 80s movie.

Every 80s, yeah. One of the puppet masters. And, oh, now I can't think of that. David Hess. Is it David Hess?

From Last House on the Left. And so they were all sitting there just eating and talking, you know, stuff. And Bill Moseley just starts whipping out these bird calls. And we're like, what the hell is that about? Why didn't you tell me that?

I totally could have communicated with him with my turkey call. Oh, yeah. You'd have been like, oh. You're part of that group? Oh, okay.

There's a whole separate convention for those people. Bird callers? Man. Yeah, it's just weird. It's like, okay, you've got to come up with something else.

You can't spend all your time talking about Chop Top. And he once gave me a pecan, Sandy. Pecan, Sandy. Yeah. We could do a whole thing with just getting this rig set up in an elevator and have celebrity elevator stories.

That's a really good idea. Actually, yeah. We should see if the hotel would okay that. I'm going to guess no. So, where are you going?

That'd be awful. You know. It'd be like the Chris Farley show. Yeah. So, fourth floor.

Remember when you were there? Not even Chris Farley. It'd be more fun like the third day in. Remember that time you went down to the lobby? And he's like, I hate this show.

Oh, you guys again. And I'll just be standing on the stairs making turkey noises. They do all these crazy shows now where it's like an interview on the steps. You know somebody, and it's like, what's the point of this? But they're hanging out.

Riding in the car with Jerry Seinfeld. Yeah, right, yeah. It's like, what's the point of that? But okay, you know. Yeah, we could just do it in an elevator with celebrities.

That would be awesome. Do it in an elevator. Yeah, wait a minute. That's a different show. That needs to be a web show.

You've got to shoot video for that one. What's your favorite? Up or down? We might just have to leave it at that. All right.

I don't think we can get out of that one. We will take our break here and head into this week's movie discussion with special guests. Second floor, hardware, children's wear, ladies lingerie. Going down. Yeah!

Working like a devil in Boston. Working for the company. Betting all my dice, I'm tossing. I'm going to have a fantasy. Where am I going to look?

It is our pleasure to welcome you to Skyline. For the information of those who are attending a drive-in theatre for the first time, the following hints will make you feel at home and add to your enjoyment. Firstly, if you've not already done so... Remove the speaker from its stand and place it within the car. Secondly, adjust the volume control to right for loud, left for soft.

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The love slaves are belted, booted, and buckled for action. I'll do anything to a man or for him. The love slaves write their own laws. They dare to turn the secret desires of every woman into a world of pleasure. You love the love slaves.

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And everybody will want to visit the snack bar, where appetizing food and drinks are always available. And the barbecue for that luscious, juicy steak. Hey guys, it's the repeater from Tower of Technobabble, and we're getting ready to do our next show, and I thought it might be cool for you to look behind the scenes and see how the magic happens. In fact, Conduit is getting Towerbot ready. right now as we speak. Want some music for your ears?

Doo-Wop Shop makes it easy to rent for any event, business meeting, or special occasion. From PA systems to karaoke machines to just about anything that makes noise, you can rent it from the Doo-Wop Shop. In Louisville, find them either at their Highland store at 1587 Bardstown Road or in the East End at 2915 South Hurstburn Parkway. And look for them online at DooWopShop.com. Doo-Wop Shop.

We're serious about music. Hey, this is Danielle Harris. So I am now maybe, quite possibly, one of the newest members of Movie Meltdown. If I can ever actually get to the movies. But I'll review some old 80s rom-coms for you.

See ya. It had to be you. It had to be you. I wandered around and finally found the somebody who. Could make me be true.

Could make me be blue. One final word when the performance ends and before moving replace the speaker on its stand you then drive forward and you move to the right you must never reverse out of your position thank you everyone we trust you have a pleasant evening it's part of your problem you know you haven't seen enough movies all of life's riddles are answered in the movies Now. On with the show. Christina, take me away Take me away with you Christina, I'm wasting away I wanna be with you Christina, take me away Take me away with you Christina, I'm wasting away I wanna be with you. Okay, so this week's special guest co-host is none other than Miss Christina Cleave.

So a lot of people will know her from Rob Zombie's Halloween. But that's just the beginning. She's a terrific actress who's been in Peter and Vandy, Zone of the Dead, Breadcrumbs, Bella Kiss, The Advocate. She's played Ava Braun in what is by far the best segment in Chillerama. And most recently, you'll see her in Zach Parker's impressive film Proxy.

Which we'll be talking about shortly. Now, we did an interview with Christina a few years back at a show where I also saw the short film she directed. And when I talked to her then, I was most impressed with how smart she was and how passionate she was about not just acting, but also the prospect of directing and the filmmaking process as a whole. It was great to talk to her that first time, and even then I remember I thought to myself, she would be a great person to have sit in for a full sofa theater movie discussion. She seems like she would really get that type of segment.

So I kept that in mind in case we crossed paths again in the future. So I was glad to find out she would be at the show this weekend, and I thought it was a great excuse to sit down with her, catch up on what she's been doing since we last spoke, and invite her to pick a. Movie to discuss. So it turns out she was up for both of those ideas, and thankfully picked an interesting and pretty amazing movie for us to talk about. So with that, I say we go ahead and get into it as I sit down with Christina and talk movies.

We talked to you a few years back, and I don't know, I think at that point you were just getting ready to shoot Proxy, which I've just seen Proxy, and you were right. I believe you described your character. Actually, you went both ends of the spectrum here. You described her as, on one hand, a toughie, followed by a fucked up chick. Oh, do you have that in writing?

Do you have it on air? Oh, yeah. You have been documented as saying both of those. That's crazy. Okay.

So she's a toughie and a fucked up chick. I think she is both of those things. Yeah, I think she does. That applies to all. What would you add to it?

Um.... Interesting. Okay. Across the board, all the characters. But yours definitely plays such a different role.

I mean, that's the thing. And I'm going to try to talk to Zach in the next few weeks here. That was not a fart. That was a chair moving. He's going to be at one of the film fests.

And I think he did such an interesting job writing that movie because it feels like you go in and, well, right off the bat, it's kind of appalling. And then, like, from that point, you kind of feel like you know where it's going. And then about halfway in, it takes that turn, and you're like, okay, like it's a whole new movie. And then even then you think, you know, and at least once or twice more, you kind of get thrown for a loop. So I guess, was it exactly in that state when you read it that first time?

Yes, but I actually think that Zack did a, he added like he knew in his head I think probably already what he wanted for that movie like and in the script I think it was it was not even as like surprising as it is in the final movie like you know I think I actually don't remember feeling I feel I remember feeling like really intrigued by the script but I think the way that he edited it and the way the sound like everything came together in the actual movie it keeps you even more on edge you know he really created a tension I think That was even more palpable than in the script, actually. Which, of course, it was already there in the script, but, you know. Yeah, it's ridiculously tense as you get into this.

And because you don't know where it's going at that point, when it starts taking those turns, you're like, I really don't know how this is going to turn out, which is interesting. And I guess going into that character, because it is such a, a weird character, but I do remember seeing you say, like, she's kind of the most normal character in its own weird, messed up way in the story. Like, she really is almost, like, the most straightforward of the bunch. Well, I think she definitely is the most straightforward of the bunch. That's the whole thing.

Like, she's very, like, she's fucked up in, like, other ways, but she's very black and white and very straightforward. Like, you know, what Annika says Annika does, what Annika says Annika means. What Annika... Doesn't say, should scare the shit out of you. When Annika's silent, you run.

Can I pronounce your name wrong so she can correct me? Because that was possibly my favorite part of the movie. Yeah, please do it. Do it, do it. Pretend you're the police officer.

Anna? Are you Anna? It's Annika. It's Annika. Annika was not happy with that.

Do you want me to put some clothes on? What, you don't like this? She's hardcore. You don't mess with Annika. She's hardcore.

Oh but yeah i don't know that that filming on that it again you kind of did it in indiana so that that's very different from you know many productions what was it like shooting. There um so i guess i can i'm a little used to shooting on location i'm pretty used to shooting on location because i i also have eu citizenship so i work in europe like i've i've worked in germany on location and serbia and montenegro on location and um So working in Indiana on location was kind of like, oh, okay, well, it's just another place to live for a few weeks. Or a month. There's some scary parts in Indiana. Well, I remember, like, because at the time I was really fit to play this part.

And I was running a lot. So I remember I actually one day ran. It was the middle of the summer. It was like 90 degrees out. And I ran from the hotel slash motel where we were staying to the set, which was, like, I'm wanting to guess like at least 10 to 15 miles away.

Like, I don't know what I was thinking. It was my day off and I'm like, I'm going to run like a half marathon for fun, you know? And I didn't even like, and, um, as I was running, like, you know, I was running by all these cornfields and I would always have my little running route. But in this, this day, like I ran by cornfields and then there were like dead animals in the road. And then there was like, and everybody was like staring at me.

It was like 90 degrees out and like cars are like honking. I'm like, this, you know, so, um, So I did get to see a little of Indiana on foot. People don't exercise in the Midwest. They were frightened by it. Yeah.

I'm from here. I can make fun of us. So proxy. Go find it. Go see it.

Definitely. I mean, it's on DVD now. Are they still going to try to do any more? It's on Netflix streaming also. It's on DVD, DVD, Blu-ray.

It's on X. No, it's not on Xbox. Sorry. It's on. Demand it from it's.

On demand it's on Netflix streaming and it's on DVD and Blu-ray and it's the kind of movie that is worth buying for sure yeah I agree because you'll want to watch it probably more than once and it's I think it's a very very special amazingly well made film yeah. I didn't know what to expect going in and was very impressed with it so yeah you guys did a great job alright unless you have other things you want to get into the movie of the week Yeah. I mean, I will just really quickly plug also this other movie that I have coming out next week called Killer Mermaid, which is exactly about that. Um, it's honestly, it's actually a really, really fun adventure monster movie with the mermaid. So, um, it's not going to be on Amazon and, um, on DVD next week, I think after September 9th or something.

It's an actual swimming mermaid, not a Fiji mermaid. Is this all a hoax? No, I know. I know. Right.

Um, Yeah, it's really funny. It's pretty cool. It's good. I think Mads Mikkelsen just didn't recognize me. He thought I was.

He's been hanging out all weekend. He seems very nice. Anyway, so... All right, that's good. Let's talk about something else.

All right. Going to the movie. It's time for Sofa Theater. It's time for Sofa Theater. Yes, Mr.

Gu's son is about to get married. He's moved out. He wants to rent a room. Thank you. No problem.

You can try it. Thank you. Oriental names are trying to confuse me. It's okay. I'll throw it to you.

Okay. This week's Sofa Theater feature is In the Mood for Love, the year is 2000. The director? Juan Carwai. Very nice.

The plot, according to IMDb, two neighbors, a woman and a man, form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, which they're already kind of spoiling things here. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as to not commit similar wrongs. Spoiler alert, a little too late for some of that. But you've been warned.

Go watch it. It's kind of amazing. So, I guess I'll ask first off, from your end, where did you first see it? Did you end up seen it in the theater originally? No, I did not see it in the theater.

How did I see it originally? Actually, gosh, I don't even remember. I kind of wish I had now. I have a feeling that an ex-boyfriend of mine introduced me to that movie. That's my feeling.

Now, which one it was, which ex I was, I really can't, I don't know. The important thing is the movie lasted. The boyfriend did not. Which is kind of what you take from this movie. Yeah, exactly.

The, the, the things you take away from relationships may be more important than the relationship itself. That's not very true. That's very true until it's the relationship that lasts. And then it's, um, but, um, so somebody introduced me to it. Um, and I, I, Around when it came, I think, no, maybe like around 2000, mid-2000s.

And then I was reintroduced to it when I was in film school, I think. Actually, I was going to ask about that. Because we watched your movie last time I talked to you. How is that going? Well, it's going really well, except for that I've been a little distracted with the acting stuff.

Acting stuff. Acting is still working out these days. Take it while you can get it. Take it while I can get it. No, I'm working on my first horror movie feature script.

And then I also have another idea for a script that I'm working on. And hopefully we'll have both written within the next six months. That's my goal. Very cool. First drafts, anyway.

Your short was really cool. Again, I kind of want to see your visual style in a feature. I would love to see my visual style in a feature, too. Just, if anything, so I can say I've made a feature and show the world what I can do. Because I know I can make something pretty damn awesome, but I just need other people to believe in me and also invest money in making it.

It becomes the filmmaking game. Yes. Investing money. Yeah. It's like, believe in me, invest $ 100, 000.

And believe in me, invest $ 500, 000. Just give her a million. Yeah, just give me a million. All right. Well, good to know it's progressing.

Yes. So I guess back into this one. So you, I don't know, where do we begin? Just like visually striking. Right.

It's just amazing to look at. Where do we begin? That is, yeah. So I have this thing, like, I am, like, two of my favorite movies are Once Upon a Time in the West and In the Mood for Love for totally different reasons. But In the Mood for Love, it's because I can turn that movie on, like, after, like, a hard day or on any day.

Like, just put the DVD into my player and turn just the menu on and it starts playing this song that is the theme song. It's amazing. which is amazing, and it's the theme song of this movie, and it just goes, like, on a loop, and it just plays it over and over, and, like, while the images of these scenes, of the most beautiful scenes, are playing on a loop, and I'm, like, oh, I just, like, put that on, and, like, it's, like, a meditation for me. It's so beautiful. Like, I would say the thing that, for me, about this movie is the, I mean, it's so beautifully shot. It's the most I mean, he's shot by one of the most amazing genius cinematographers, Christopher Doyle.

Um, and, uh, you know, he's was Wong Kar Wai's cinematographer for a long time. I actually worked with him on a commercial. Actually, maybe that's how I was introduced to the movie because I worked with him in like 2004 on a commercial that M. Night Shyamalan directed for Amex. And, um, and maybe the, he was the one who told me shot or like I looked him up and he, and I, and I found in the mood for love.

Um, it's just geniusly shot like I was I was kind of like looking again at some of the frames yesterday just and everything has a foreground and a background everything has something happening in the background whether it's smoke or steam or rain or someone walking in the background it's um it's everything has every picture has life to it and every picture has a frame that you want to like die for like every frame is like every every scene is like I guess every frame I don't know how to even talk about it like it's more gorgeous. Than the next every frame has purpose right like it's not just like oh and then we get to this part over here and this part's important it's like you feel like every scene that he's shooting somehow in his head, again, some sort of crazy genius thoughts or like piecing this together, even as he's shooting it on the fly going in, this ties into this and this goes here and this means this, but we're not going to spell it out for you.

So it does feel like everything going on on screen is something. Right. And that's, I think really what makes the, I mean, what made their collaboration in general so genius because like what they teach you and what you should know anyway about a film, like every, every scene, every frame should be moving, I mean, every scene should be moving the movie forward, right? Yeah. Like, if you don't need it and it doesn't teach the audience anything, it should be taken out of the film.

That's a hard lesson to learn. It is a hard lesson and most people don't understand it. Yeah. You know? But in this case, like, this movie is a very slow movie, so it's not like, you know, what maybe a lot of, like, horror fans or what a lot of, like, you know, action fans are used to, like, movie going really quickly, like, This movie is slow as hell.

But every frame, every shot brings us forward to teach us something more about these two characters. Yeah, I would say for me, like, the reason the movie sticks out so much again is the cinematography and the music and the way that the music and the mood of the movie. I mean, that's the whole thing. Look, it's in the title. It's in the title.

In the mood for love. The movie is a mood. That's the whole, like, it takes you to this place of, like, It's just. It is almost all mood. Because the way the movie plays out, you don't get, like, what you would expect from, like, an American romance movie.

Like, you're going to get midway in, and then you're going to get these, you know, their hot sex scenes. And, like, we don't go down that road. Like, that's not. what that's not what he's trying to do on the one hand and at the other it's not at all what the story is telling you no by the time you get to the end you realize oh okay this is a totally different thing than what you probably would have expected just like throwing this premise out there it's. Um i mean i think it's incredible because there's so much tension and palpable you know energy between these two characters and what i find interesting and i don't know if you notice but We never see the faces of their spouses. I was going to ask what your thoughts were on that because it is kind of amazing the.

Way it's set up. Yeah. And actually, it took me until the second time viewing to notice that because I was like, oh, but I got confused. Like, who is the wife again? And then I was like, oh, I'm confused who the wife is because I never saw her face.

And then there's that point where he even kind of tricks you at that point when she's sitting there telling her husband she's, like, wanting to break up with him, and you get him, and you're like, oh, okay, well, we're finally, this is, you know, it's him from the back, but, like, we're finally going to get to see him, and then it turns around. And she's just practicing the lines with Arlene. Exactly. Just like that. Okay, that was clever.

Exactly. Like, you really, you kind of thought they were going there, and then they're like, no, we're just, we're playing this game the way they're playing this game in their real life. Yeah. I thought that was really clever. And that idea is so interesting, too, right, that they kind of, like, they they pretend they are their counterparts yeah and how their counterparts how that romance and the affair between their counter their spouses started and that's like they're reliving it trying to figure out how could it happen.

You know well and it's interesting then by the time you get to the end how much it really like in any other more traditional movie it would become this whole big elaborate thing and you do all these other characters that you're sidetracked on all their nonsense. And it's like, it just makes you focus on these two people. And even though it's about their relationships and their marriages falling apart in some cases, and it's like, we're still not going to look at the other people. We're going to look at how these two people deal with that situation. It gives it such focus.

Again, it's like restraint that most filmmakers probably would not, it may not even occur to them to do that. It's so well put together. Yeah, definitely. I was also going to ask, just, like, from while we're doing filmmaking kind of stuff, from what I hear, the director doesn't use a script. Like, he, I guess, has a rough idea, but, like, will just kind of get on set.

Because I think the actor had worked with him before, and he's just, like, every clip I'd seen with him, they're just, like, he's like, yeah, I'm just used to it. This is just how I work. And, like, I think she was a little more frustrated because I think she wanted a script and she wanted to kind of know where the progression was going and that's just not how it works. So I don't know. I was going to ask you, have.

You worked that much on the fly and would you be comfortable going into this massive story like this and just not a hundred percent knowing where you're even going. As a character? Oh, as an actor or as a director? Like, we'll do well. Okay.

As an actor, I would feel actually really uncomfortable. I'd probably be more like her. Like that's a really scary concept because like, there's no way for you to really prepare. I guess you can prepare just by being the character, but yeah, I mean, you know what I mean? Obviously if I were working with one car, why, uh, I would not care at all because I would trust that he knows what he's doing.

Cause he works that way. Yeah. It's more about like trusting the director and knowing that they have a game plan, whatever that game plan is or however they're going to reach it. I mean, yeah, it's not the most comfortable situation for me as an actor. I like to know what my lines are.

I also don't like when like scripts change. Last minute, like, you know, the. Morning of or the night of. and um but sometimes it does add for a certain like spontaneity and for kind of like maybe something that you couldn't have expected or planned for like it might add something like that to your performance and i think that's probably why wonkar white does what he does like because you know he finds so many subtle moments within his characters. And it is interesting because I don't think that's, I don't think that's like part of it is that's what he's doing, but I think so much of it is not really, I don't know how much he's even taking the performances into account as much as the story he's telling.

Cause as you like, again, just listening to them talk about it, it's like he even had like totally different ways worked out. They shot totally different scenes. And like some of this may have even been in the editing room where he pieced together what he was eventually going to make the story out to be. Because, There's scenes where in the beginning where they have them being very flirty with each other, which is not at all the way that relationship ends up being. They have them like going out and ordering dinner together and being very like, it's almost like a date, which you never really get a normal date or anything like that with them.

So it's like he almost shot all these to the point, even when he does have them kind of like engaged in a real relationship later on that, like they shot all this, like they said it was like 15 months later. of shooting all this footage, some of which you never see. Wow, I didn't even know this background story, so that's incredible. I was amazed that, like, number one, that he did all this, and more impressively, I guess, that he still kind of knew where he was going and still kind of had this master plan in his head that, like, even if I go down these roads, I know what I've got to pick up the other end and how to make it, like, work Again, to me, that's almost more impressive that he shot all this craziness and then in the end pieced together this really tight, amazing story.

Yeah, I did not know that. I don't know. To me, that's more insane that he just shot this year and a half worth. Of a movie and then eventually... That's what I can't decide.

If all of it was just pieced together in the editing where he decided to build this movie. Or if he. even as he went along going, I'm probably just going to take it down this road, but let's shoot this. And, and again, maybe that's where the acting comes in. Maybe this will build some sort. Of weird familiarity between the two actors that we're going to see later, but it's not actually going to be scenes that take place in the store.

Like again, it's so complicated. Um, I mean, I, I wonder like, you know how, so like, it's funny cause there's like the ending. I don't know if you noticed is actually like something part of a story that he tells. Yeah. So I'm wondering if, like, maybe that story was, like, an improv story or something.

Like, came about in the middle of it. Came about in one of the scenes, and then Wan Kar Wai was just like, oh, let's go to a Buddhist monastery and shoot that, you know, as, like, the ending, which is so awesome. Yeah, that ending is amazing. But it is, like, again, it takes this big jump, too, as we see this, like, relationship kind of. Even the relationship level that it was at, it.

Kind of, falls apart and dissolves and they make these choices and they're kind of left away like it really takes that jump where they don't see each other for years but then going back and watching like that criterion they put out he shot all these other in between scenes some of which where they actually come in contact with each other several times and in a way i'm like i'm so glad he took that out it's like to me it works so much better the other way where they just like Did you. Watch the scenes on Criterion? Yeah. So I haven't seen... What scenes were on there?

I mean, there's kind of... And then I can't remember which ones were actually in there. So I know he does go back to the apartment. Like, she goes back and rents... In the movie, she goes back and ends up taking over that place.

He goes back to the neighbors, but doesn't realize it's her. So they have those, like, sort of close calls. Yeah, because she. Moves, like, across the street or something. And she has a son somehow.

She has the son, and then, like. Was she. Pregnant from her husband, though? I mean, because... We never, that's the one question I have.

Cause like we've never seen them like do more than hold hands. I was going to throw that out to you. Cause again, I think there are scenes they shot where it becomes a physical relationship. So then I was going to ask you, is that the, cause we get that moment of, and what, is probably the most amazing shot in a movie of amazing shots in the cab. And they're sitting there and they hold hands and she like kind of leans her head on it.

It's amazing. But that's also the point when she says, I don't want to go home tonight. I know. I don't want to go home. So it's right after that we get to, okay, and now they're not going to be together.

And then later she has a son. And I'm like, what do we take from that? Right. I would say about that too. I'd read like someone's theory as to, okay, that, that night they did, you know, have a physical relationship.

They then have the child, but being that it's that time and that place, they couldn't have this child out of wedlock kind of thing. If even if they decided to be together, so then they actually give up their relationship for the child. like as an act of love for this child of theirs so that he can be raised in a traditional family and not be this weird sort. Of born out of wedlock child. I don't know. I mean, that was always a question I had too.

Like, I mean, I guess then maybe he wanted it to be open ended like that, you know, like to let the audience imagine what they want. Like either, you know, he, she, you know, kind of rekindles her relationship with her son. I mean, sorry, with her husband and then has the son, um, Which is a sign that they rekindled their relationship because they were having sex. First time through, that's kind of how I read it. I felt like it was the husband's son.

And then later I was like, well, they do kind of leave this really open here. I don't know. Yeah, I'm not sure if we're supposed to pin that down or if that's part of it is that this just was part of their life. And yeah, we just get this weird window into it. So we're not 100% sure.

Right. I think, yeah, I think maybe it's just meant to be left open because maybe in like in real life, maybe she, you know, like in real life, many times parents don't, you know, somebody cheats and then suddenly the child, you don't know who the father is. Yeah. Right. So it's like, maybe that's the same question and the same kind of like open-endedness that he wanted to evoke in this kind of a situation when two couples are both kind of like, whether physically or emotionally cheating on each other.

Yeah. And, um, And then like, what are the results? Like, is that the child of the lover or is it the child of the father? Like who, you know? I mean, in the end, the kid's there.

So it's, you know, we still see her being a good mother and she's taking care of him. So like, I guess at that point, it's just like, this is my child. I'm taking care of my child and, you know, hopefully raise. So again, you do have that in. It's like, I'm just dealing with it as a parent now, regardless of where this came from.

And yeah. And I think like, and he's kind of the one that I think, suffers the most I. Mean it does by the end sort of shift towards his point of view like in the beginning it almost feels like it starts from hers and then in the middle it's like both of theirs like we almost get this equal balance of like you know how this works out but by the end it definitely feels like he's he's suffering they both kind of do but she feels like she gets over it a little more than he does. There was there was I think actually you know on YouTube I saw like an edited scene I think at the end they may have cut out for the final version scene where like he sees her in the monastery yeah she right. They did shoot they shot two or three before that like there's one where they just meet i think somewhere else along.

The way like five years before that or. Something so it's like they end up meeting like in all these cut scenes they would have met like three more times over the years which to me like kind of cuts the legs out from under it like it by the end you get such a powerful story of like this longing and suffering and like you know it really tells a much more grim love story whereas where they keep me it kind of just takes the wind out of the sail you know it's like well now there's not this big longing because he keeps running into her and then it's just so especially like at the monastery there it's like it it almost is too much of a connection like I think I liked the longing I think I liked the story that he was telling that was really kind of a suffering sad love.

Story but in the final one she doesn't they don't yeah. Yeah, they totally took that out. But they did shoot it, and it's a good scene, but it's a scene that I feel like takes away from what I like better, the original cut. Yeah, it's a great... I mean, it's such a subtle, subtle movie, and it's just so...

Again, it's about mood and emotion and feeling and what evokes those moods. Like, you know, music evokes feeling. Music, yeah. And visuals evoke feeling, and I think... you know, film is a very visual and it's a very emotional medium, right? It's a mixture of all of those.

Right. But it, but it's like, it should make us feel something because you have all the elements to make somebody feel something to make. It's, it's unfortunately, I think film is under used in terms of its power of like, of emotional, you know, um, and. Just like half of it sometimes, you know, you'll get great. Visuals but yeah not great soundtrack you get.

That Nat King Cole that kicks in I'm just like it's so I know it's so well played and the song on the radio that they play is like. Marie wishes her a happy birthday yeah totally so. Much of that is just like perfectly placed. Yeah and all those little details like the fact that you're sitting there and like suddenly you just hear on the radio like in Chinese you know um Yeah, and now we're going to wish, we'd like to say shout out to, you know, Sonny's kid who's turning 10. And Mr.

Chang would like to wish his wife a happy birthday from Hong Kong or from wherever. he is traveling, you know? And she's, and then you like, you're just, you're, the visual is on the radio, you know, you're, you're panning across the radio as you hear this in this like what beautiful kind of weird room. And, and then you like come to her, you know, you somehow, and it's like, and that tells you so much because you're like, he's the kind of guy, like he's cheating on his wife, but like he remembers to call on the radio to make sure that she hears that he sends her a birthday message. Like, you know, and just like he brings the handbags back from his travels and stuff. Like it's just, it's, it reminds me so much.

I feel like it could remind everybody of a businessman, like the businessman who travels, who has his girl, a mistress on the side, but who always brings back his wife, beautiful gifts. And, you know, which was her happy birthday song on the radio. Like the, like a slick motherfucker. We kind of, well, we kind of get that with the boss, like her boss. You feel like it's that exact, like it's sort of mirroring her life at work.

And you know, cause you know, he's cheating on his wife and he's buying stuff, presents for his mistress. And it's like, she's kind of dealing with that at work and helping him cover for it. When, as the story unfolds, you're like, Oh, she's right in the middle of this too. And like, she's like, Somewhere there's some woman helping this, you know, it's. Like, it's such a weird twisted little like chain of these lies that go on.

It's like, but that's another thing I thought was so amazing is how it's like, it's so subtle in the way that it sort of unfolds all that. Like the fact that, Hey, my husband's kind of gone a lot. Hey, my wife's kind of gone a lot. And then they just sort of around each other. It's so slow paced.

It's so, metered in a way that he knows exactly what he's doing there. But then when you kind of get to that point of like, you know. They're gone at the same time. Like it really becomes this very slow dawning on them of like, I don't know. I think that was kind of amazing watching that progression of them just realizing, you know, not only do I think they're cheating on me, but I think they're cheating on me with your spouse.

Yeah. I mean, just the coincidences and, like, you're right, the way that that unravels them finding out is just, it's so beautiful, actually. It's so sad. Yeah. But beautiful because, like, I feel like in a way that's almost how you find out in real life.

Like, you don't right away know or you have a feeling and the feeling leads you to, like, talk to someone. And then because you talk to that person, like, they tell you something and then you see a photo somewhere and you're like, you know, it's. Like, yeah. Yeah. Yeah, hopefully if you have a healthy relationship, you're not immediately jumping to that conclusion.

Right. But as that goes on and there's these little clues and little clues, you're just like, I don't feel right about this anymore. Like, that's, yeah, that part's so amazing. And wasn't there that one scene where, like, the husband, like, not our main characters, but their husband and wife, the ones who are cheating, where they have, like, a love scene, but we don't see them? Or is that with her and her husband?

I can't remember now. I don't remember because I feel like they never really brought because at one point I thought I thought the director wanted our leads to also play the husband and wife and I'm like oh this is going to get way too confused like I'm so glad he cut that out because it's so more more effective the other way anyway but I'm just like how confusing would that be if they were like you'd never figure this thing. Out right right but yeah I don't remember them shooting anything with the husband. And wife maybe I'm like there was this one scene but. I think there was a scene with them I think there was a love scene between them when he took the relationship to that level.

And like we, that all gets like taken out by, because really we never see anything happen between them to the point that you question whether anything ever happens. So it's, it's pretty interesting. Well, which in another direction here, I wanted to say that the relationship with people and food in this movie is amazing. Because it's almost its own weird sub-story going on there. And it is.

This weird, like, peek into this culture that I'm certainly not familiar with, especially not in the 60s. But, like, it does give you that. It starts with just the family situation. I think you really did, like, remember some of this stuff as a kid, that how open the neighborhood was and how open, like, neighbors were just, like, they just... You could come and go out of.

Each other's houses. The landlady is like her mother. Like the landlady acts like the mother or aunt character who, you know, then there's the grandmother, then there's the uncle. And, you know, they all live next door and they invite them over for dinner. Mahjong.

Yeah. Crazy mahjong tournaments. Yeah. And, yeah, the drunk uncle. Oh, yeah.

You know, who comes in, like, when he plays cards. Like, you know he never leaves. You know, and then they're stuck in the room together. And they can't let anyone know they're in a room together. And, meanwhile, nothing's happening in the room.

But the drunk uncle is outside. And they can't leave until he leaves. It is certainly a different time. Yeah. She couldn't even be in the house, basically, when no one else was home.

Or everyone would talk. And it's probably true. Even now, that's probably the way people are. Yeah. But then you get into like the, the way that that family that she lives with in particular is so everything is centered around food and every scene is come eat with us, come eat with us.

Tonight we're making dumplings tonight. We're making, you know, it's like everything they go into. And then she has this weird disconnect. Like she almost, she appreciates them, but she doesn't like there's, she still kind of doesn't feel like she's part of that family. And she's always doing that solo walk to the noodle.

Stand kind of thing. And she's got that little thermos that she has. And like, I don't know. There's something about that. I think the noodle stand and the thermos is like, that's another one of the most like sensual, like those scenes when she goes to get the noodles and it's like slow motion of her, like walking down the stairs to get noodles.

Like, I don't think anybody in film history has made a woman getting noodles look so sexy. Like, I mean, and sensual. I mean, even the idea of the noodles is sensual, you know, obviously, I mean, and that makes sense, but like, you know, I, I love a lot of like the slow motion shots and like how he really, and I mean, of course, like she is so beautiful and she's dressed to the, like so gorgeous. Those dresses are amazing. I don't pay that much attention to women's dresses, but like that, that specific, like, again, I think this was something he remembered and like, he loved those, like that style that like his mother wore that and his friend's mother's wore it.

Like that was just the thing in the, in that point in the sixties. And like, so he wanted her to wear nothing, but, and you don't really see even, occasionally i think even then the landlady wears that but like that specific dress was like that's what he wanted her in all the time right right there yeah it's it's they're amazing like and specifically the colors like when you go into the cinematography like every one of them is so like amazing like just the designs and the colors on each one of them but yeah the i don't know the food thing i think sort of ties in too as we get into the relationship because i was like the The one thing I felt like was very universal there, aside from her weird sensual walks to the noodle stand, when they get into their, at that point just say friendship, but it becomes a very, because they always kind of get to that point of eating together.

And it's like, can I walk with you to the noodle stand? Or they come back to their place. Or they get that motel room that they're in. And there's a lot of scenes of them eating together. That's funny.

I never even thought about that. You're right. They're always eating when they're together. They're always eating when they're together. And I was like, to me, that's the main.

Maybe that's their way of, that's their communion. That's their, like, that's their intimacy. To me, it was the sign of couplehood. You know, it's like when you are with somebody, like that's of the failed relationship. I don't even want to think about it anymore.

But the one thing I remember of that last time, it was like the one thing we had, the one thing that worked when nothing else did, it was a very familiar relationship. that's the scenario we get into. You know, what are we having tonight? I want to make this. Let's go here. Like, it becomes such a part of your structure as a couple, almost more than, like, it's something you don't have when you're by yourself.

It's something you, it's different when you're with your family. It's a very specific thing, eating in a relationship. And I was like, that pinned it down, like, so well for me. Right. That's, that was one of the main takeaways I had, was just, like, how well he kind of understood that and then worked it into the structure of the story.

Mm-hmm. But I feel like yeah that's such a tie into their the way that the relationship works is kind of like yeah built around that yeah I think. I didn't even yeah that's a great that's a great. Point and I guess you could say maybe because they're not doing anything maybe it becomes the surrogate in their relationship. We're not and again like if you think about like the way that they're eating and like they're like it's the noodles and they're slurping and it's kind of like it is kind of sensual you know again and the way like the way that they meet at the noodle stand and they cross paths and that's before they start eating together.

But when they first, when they first are aware of each other, they, they like, you know, she's like leaving the noodle stand and he's coming down and it's all in slow motion and they look at each other and they say hi, but you know, they haven't gotten to the point of eating together yet. Again, it's all sort of built around. Like that's almost that like first encounter kind of thing in the relationship. And then later it's them, sort of talking as they go to the noodle stand is almost they're dating and it's like then they're in the relationship when they're eating together like it's it all kind of feels like it's built as like a surrogate to what a full relationship would be it's like this is what we can do i don't know that i thought was really interesting and i guess i was gonna ask what you think about that like that decision she makes to kind of put a cap on it and he kind of does too that there like, we don't want to go down the road that our spouses do, like almost being like, I don't want to.

Be in that same situation. I don't want to, I'm so messed up over what they've done. I don't want to be like that. Right. Right.

I thought that was interesting. And again, I think that's great. I mean, you don't see in most people. That's not, it's usually the act of revenge at that point. Right.

No, I think it's great. I think it obviously shows again. Well, I think it shows class number one. Yeah. Um, and like, I also, I mean, at one point he does say to her, like, I didn't think I was going to actually fall in love with you.

Like, I mean, he fell in love with her. Yeah. Or she says, I didn't think you would fall in love with me. But then she's also like crying when they part ways, you know. So they have obviously both grown very close to each other as, I mean, especially as friends.

And they have fallen in love with each other. And I think if she had been willing to leave her husband. Yeah. They could have done something, but they didn't want to do something if she wasn't going to leave her husband. So, I mean, his, cause his wife left him, right?

Eventually. I could never tell if it happened during, it seemed like it was almost once they separated. When we revisit him later, we see that he's now dating this other woman. And like, so we see him a few times later and he's always like not with the same person. He's definitely not with his wife.

And then by the end of it, he's, he's not with anybody anymore. So, again, that's probably why his story. Seems so much more tragic, where she's always with her husband and always has someone and has a child to keep her company. He's just wandering around a monastery by himself at that point. I don't even remember him being with other women.

He shows up when he goes to the apartment. When they go back to try to rent an apartment in that same building, I think. That was a really weird scene because he, like, she questions him, almost like he'd been talking about female lead like and how much and like she had read into it how much he he was in love with her and like there's this weird exchange to the point where that almost maybe where the the new couple breaks up because. She knows that he's still in love with her it. Yeah it was weird because it it seemed it didn't seem like him to have gone on and talked about her at any point like it seems he's so good at keeping it all inside that seemed.

Very awkward to me so i don't know that that was a weird thing along the way but i don't know the reason. I remember that i wonder if like i'm starting to wonder if there's a few versions of this movie out there because. By the time i watched all the extra stuff they'd shot because there's also a scene where they try to take it to that next level they try to actually they're sitting on the bed and they're going to have sex and they start taking off their clothes and they. Both just look so unhappy and it's like it's Again. It's like those other ones.

It's a good scene, but it changes everything by putting it in there. But you see them both kind of start to get undressed, and they both just kind of sit there, and by the end they're like. I can't. I can't do this. So it's good, but even seeing them go that far was kind of weird.

I like the way it works not seeing any of that, just watching them be friends and watching them have this weird longing and never letting themselves give in to that. I don't know. I don't know, but I almost have to leave. I've got like five minutes left until I'm supposed to leave to the airport. Okay.

So I don't know. I think it's all, it's that, that's sort of my, my takeaway with it. It's just all regret and longing and sadness. Like, but again, it's weird how much I liked it, but it's, it's not a fun movie person. It's just so impressive.

It's, it's weird. Cause like, I don't ever get like, it's not a, I don't think it's a sad movie, but I don't think it's, I really have to just say I think it's a moody movie. Yeah. Like, I actually, but after a long day, like, I love to put on that soundtrack. Like, it makes, you know what it makes me feel?

It makes me feel longing. Yeah. Like, it's a movie that makes me feel longing. It definitely does that. Like, longing would be the word I use.

Like, just to, and I kind of like that feeling. It's like listening to Depeche Mode or something. You know, it's like you're, you feel like, you feel like you love it. You want to like hear it a hundred times over and over, but it doesn't make you happy. You know, it makes you like long for something bigger and better.

And you long for that love that you lost and long for that, you know, long for that connection with somebody with that. Yeah. So that's kind of like, I think that's the way to. yeah so but it is one of my favorite movies of all time and I could watch it over and over and I could listen to that song or I could just put the DVD menu on and watch it on repeat over and over watch it loop over and over. That is what you do at night, isn't it? But I do have to go now, so all right.

Well, thank you for sitting in with us again this week. Yeah, well, thank you. You're definitely invited back. I like your movie choice, so it's been a lot of fun. Well, I'll find another totally random one for you.

Definitely. Okay. In the meantime, go see Proxy. Okay. Yes, go see Proxy, and don't say Annika the wrong way.

Or Elf. Don't fuck with her. Bye. Bye. All right, Christina is heading out now, so that about does it.

We will return next week. Same geek time, same geek feed. Thanks for listening. I'm in the mood for love Simply because. Because you're near me Funny, but when you're near me I'm.

In love for love. Heaven is in your eyes Bright. As the stars we're under. Oh, is it any wonder I'm in the mood for love. Why stop to think of weather This little dream might fade We've put our hearts together.

Now we are one I'm not afraid If there's a cloud above. If it should rain, we'll let. It. But for tonight, forget it. I'm a woman for love.

So don't. Look at me. Wish you must stay here. Wish you must stay here. I stopped to think of when you.

This little dream might fade. We've put our hearts together Now we are. One I'm not afraid If there's a cloud above. If it should rain, we'll let it. But for tonight, forget it.

Amène mon beau faux vent Selon le calme des noirs, où dorment les étoiles Flottent très doucement, couchées en cendrillon Et c'est plus doux dans l'ombre que la. Triste fée d'eau. C'est plus de l' élan que cette douce folie. L'univers se renonce à la prise du soir. Tu viens chercher l'amour, les fleurs que tu cueilles.

Un champ mystérieux tombe des astres d'or. This episode is a. Production of Movie Meltdown, produced and edited by the Auditude Studios, with the opening music performed by the Empires. For more on how to sponsor or support the show, email producer at moviemeltdown.com. Produced and edited by The Oddity Studios.

With opening music performed by The Empires. For more on how to sponsor or support the show, email producer at moviemeltdown.com. Talk hard!