Mongol

Amanda Palmer interviews Mongol director Sergei Bodrov

Award-winning Russian filmmaker Sergei Bodrov illuminates the life and legend of Genghis Khan in his stunning historical epic, Mongol. 

Based on leading scholarly accounts, Mongol delves into the dramatic and harrowing early years of the ruler who was born as Temudgin in 1162. 

As it follows Temudgin from his perilous childhood to the battle that sealed his destiny, the film paints a multidimensional portrait of the future conqueror, revealing him not as the evil brute of hoary stereotype, but as an inspiring, fearless and visionary leader. 

Mongol shows us the making of an extraordinary man, and the foundation on which so much of his greatness rested: his relationship with his wife, Borte, his lifelong love and most trusted advisor. 

Sergei Bodrov joins presenter Amanda Palmer as a special guest on The Fabulous Picture Show at the Everyman Cinema Club to discuss the production of this grand epic, which was Oscar-nominated this year in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.

Bodrov entertains the audience with stories of how the film was cast and shot, and how love blossomed on set.

The 61st Cannes Film Festival

The illustrious Cannes Jury 2008

From the opening night attraction of Blindness, from Brazil’s Fernando Meirelles (City of God) to the closer of Barry Levinson’s What Just Happened?, starring Robert DeNiro and Bruce Willis, the recently completed 61st Cannes Film Festival was a typical mix of glamour, art and politics – and The Fabulous Picture Show wraps it all up for you in one breezy package.

With such an eclectic bag of treats, it is impossible to make sweeping statements on the current state of cinema, but several trends did emerge this year, such as hagiographic treatments of fallen sports heroes Mike Tyson and Diego Maradona, new entries from old favourites with Woody Allen’s Vicky Cristina Barcelona, The Silence of Lorna, from Belgium’s two-time Palme D’or-winning Dardenne Brothers, Clint Eastwood’s The Exchange and this year’s hottest ticket, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Also, a contentious jury president (Sean Penn) and as always, a look at the rising auteurs of the world. 

As these films slowly dribble into local cinemas throughout the coming year, you can say you heard about them here first.

Waltz With Bashir

Waltz with Bashir, a contender for this year’s Palme D’Or

One of the most talked-about films at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the animation Waltz With Bashir presents a first-person account of the Israeli incursion into Lebanon in 1982 that culminated with the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp massacre, in which thousands of Palestinian refugees were killed by Christian Phalangists. 

Israeli director Ari Folman was a soldier stationed there at the time, but only later fully comprehended the horror that occurred as Israeli troops failed to intervene.

Amanda Palmer talks to director Ari Folman about his groundbreaking feature, reportedly one of the jury’s favourites in this year’s competition for Cannes’ Palme D’or.

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

Rainer Werner Fassbinder, the legendery German filmmaker

In a blazing career lasting only 15 years, Rainer Werner Fassbinder wrote and directed more than 40 features, TV dramas and stage plays. 

He was a leading light of the German New Wave of the 1970s, undoubtedly the most illustrious era in that country’s cinema.

His lasting masterpieces include a 15 and a half-hour adaptation of Alfred Doblin’s classic novel of Germany in the 1920s, Berlin Alexanderplatz and The Marriage of Maria Braun, about an indomitable woman who refuses to accept that her soldier husband’s disappearance means he is dead. 

But Fassbinder’s personal life was just as fevered as his professional life, and it led to his tragic death in 1982, at age 37. 

And the turmoil continues. Although gay, he shared his life with two women: the actress and singer Ingrid Caven, whom he briefly married, and the film editor Juliane Lorenz, who now controls Fassbinder’s estate. 

Over the years, resentments between the two – and the factions they represent, from the two eras of Fassbinder’s career – have simmered and recently boiled over. We meet with both women to gain some insight into this film legend and his disputed legacy.

Watch part one of this episode of The Fabulous Picture Show

Watch part two of this episode of The Fabulous Picture Show