Film Magistery

– “When did you last see the world, Mr. Stevens?”

James Ivory’s The Remains of the Day (1993) is, besides  being a masterfully crafted drama, a great example of how people can  fall into a pitfall of not doing something that will have a considerable  impact on people’s lives and ultimately have a greater existential  meaning. Many of us are waisting the best days of our lives and we are  not even aware of it. In this episode, Dino talks about how Mr. Stevens,  the main character in the film The Remains of the Day, realizes  too late what could have his life been if he only acted and thought  differently. The main subject of this episode is regrets, in this case,  regrets of not doing the right thing, the regrets of not exploring the  opportunities that present themselves at some point of one’s life.

Tarkovsky’s The Mirror is undoubtedly one of the true masterpieces in  the magical world of cinema. In this episode Dino talks about Tarkovsky  and his concept of the so-called Time Sculpting, which is here explored in his seminal work “The Mirror” (1975).

And no, there is no awkward impersonation of Tarkovsky’s Russian accent in this episode.

In the seventh episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about slavery throughout history. The Code of Hammurabi is  mentioned, and so is the slavery in Africa, Europe and the United  States. And do we have slavery in modern times, here in 2017?
The reference to the concept of slavery is Steve McQueen’s powerful film 12 Years A Slave (2013).

In the sixth episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about the abundance of bullshit today around us and Coens’  underrated film ‘Burn After Reading’ (2008), a tongue-in-cheek spy film  about some people who know nothing, but pretend to know a lot. It says a  lot about the cultural and interpersonal condition of the modern  society today.
We ask what bullshit is and why is there so much of it around us.

In the fourth episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about surveillance and how the society is subdued the heavy  tracking from many different sides. As the reference to the theme the  German film The Lives of Others (von Donnersmarck, 2006) is chosen to be discussed and how East Germany’s security police, the Stasi,  kept the whole nation under its firm surveillance. Bentham’s concept of  Panopticon is mentioned as an important element in discussion about  surveillance.

But what does surveillance mean to us? Does it concern us on a  personal level or are we just saying “I don’t care; they can monitor me  anywhere and anytime – I have nothing to hide”? But what when  surveillance is undertaken by private companies, domestic or foreign  governments? Dino asks if a society should passively accept surveillance  or perhaps contest it and demand from politicians to legislate and  control it.

There is also a mentioning of some other examples of films with surveillance as the main theme: The Conversation, Minority Report, Caché, Brazil, Rear Window etc.

In the third episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about Tim Robbins’ Bob Roberts (1992),  a satirical mockumentary about a young right-wing conservative  folk-singer who runs for the US Senate. The film’s political theme is  compared to the current presidential election in the USA and Donald  Trump. Dino asks if the election of both Bob Roberts and Donald Trump is  a clear sign that we live in a post-factual society.

There is also a mentioning of some other examples of political films: The Candidate, Wag The Dog, Election, The Ides of March etc.

In the second episode of Film Magistery Dino talks about Erice’s The South (El Sur, 1983), a great film about a young girl and her relationship to  her mysterious father. He also puts it into the perspective of his own  childhood and his perception of his father. There’s also a short  mentioning of Dino’s recent six DVD acquisitions. Yes yes, a Tarkovsky  work is among them. Dino compares El Sur’s ambiance to Caravaggio’s use of lighting in his paintings.

Oh, and did you know Dino’s brother’s name is Elvis?

Film Magistery, my film/history podcast is on air!  So, what is it about? Film Magistery is a podcast about films and  history... but mostly about films. This show wants to explore the films  that belong to deeper cinematic experience by talking about a single  theme or concept that is related. You can expect to stumble upon films  made by Tarkovsky, Kubrick, Allen, Malick, Altman, Coen, Kiarostami, but  there should be space for the mainstream cinema, too.  The topic of the first episode is Resnais' Night and Fog, a short  documentary from 1956. Its theme is Holocaust. Is it still relevant  today? Additionally, I talk about whether the humankind has progressed  on a cultural level or not? I mention several other genocides in the  recent history, especially the one in Bosnia in 1995. Also, watch me  make a fool of myself while doing a (fake) Russian accent.       

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