talk talk

i love movie talk. like any art, film (when it's good or bad, but mostly good) is meant to provoke and inherently elicit a response. engaging in a dialogue about film can expand your mind and perhaps gain a new perspective on the art, but also realize their relevancy in the world and times we're living in. while reading some the cannes wrap ups, i stumbled upon this wonderful conversation between new york times critics manohla dargis and a.o. scott that ranges from what's missing in american independent cinema, the possibility of achieving reality on film, and the supposed international style of commercial film.

listen to it here.

in other news, cristian mungiu's "4 months, 3 weeks, and 2 days" won the presitgious palme d'or at cannes this weekend. the new york times describes it as "harrowing and brilliantly acted (...), a stark image of life under totalitarian rule without political grandstanding or sentimentality." some of the articles i've been reading about the win have suggested that it cemented the emerging presence of romanian cinema in the current international film landscape. do we have a new country to gorge on its unearthed cinematic delights?