Welcome back to Intermission, a spin-off podcast from The Film Stage Show. In a time when arthouse theaters are hurting more than ever and there are a plethora of streaming options at your fingertips, we wanted to introduce new conversations that put a specific focus on the films that are foundational or perhaps overlooked in cinephile culture. Led by yours truly, Michael Snydel (co-host of The Film Stage Show), Intermission is a 1-on-1 supplementary discussion podcast that focuses on one arthouse, foreign, or experimental film per episode as picked by the guest.
For our fourth episode, I talked with The Film Stage contributor Logan Kenny about Andrei Tarkovsky’s Mirror, which is currently available on The Criterion Channel. A Russian auteur unfairly accused of a punishing austerity for much of his career, his 1975 film is a ravishing piece of autofiction that bleeds together the past, present, and future into a non-linear vision that’s less interested in continuity than a bracing emotional logic. It’s a film fixated on memory but not the full stories that shape us as much as the visual shards that inflect a persons’ subconscious and their perception of time.
If there’s a constant in the conversation on this episode, it’s the embrace of death and “ends” as a chance for reflection. Coming at a tragic time, this conversation was recorded shortly after my guest, Logan, learned about the passing of his friend, Eli Hayes. Hayes was a critic and filmmaker who’s been published on The Film Stage before, but he also had an expansive body of work outside this site. Today’s episode begins with a conversation about the ways Tarkovsky subverts the usual portrayal of time and memory in Mirror – but it organically transitions into a larger discussion about film as a method of preservation and the power of watching a film at different times in one life. Given the circumstances, I’m so happy that Logan was able to join me and be so open-hearted in this conversation.
Intermission episodes are shared exclusively with our Patreon community before being posted to The Film Stage Show’s main feed. One can also enter our giveaways, get access to our private Slack channel, and support new episodes by becoming a Patreon contributor. For a limited time, all new Patreon supporters will receive a free Blu-ray/DVD. After becoming a contributor, e-mail podcast@thefilmstage.com for an up-to-date list of available films.
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Intermission is supported by MUBI, a curated streaming service showcasing exceptional films from around the globe. Every day, MUBI premieres a new film. Whether it’s a timeless classic, a cult favorite, or an acclaimed masterpiece — it’s guaranteed to be either a movie you’ve been dying to see or one you’ve never heard of before and there will always be something new to discover. With MUBI, each and every film is hand-selected, so you’ll never spend more time looking for something great to watch, and instead, you’ll actually be watching something great. It’s like your own personal film festival — streaming anytime, anywhere. Try it for free for 30 days at mubi.com/filmstage.