The question of “Why?” hovers over Alice Diop’s new SAINT OMER, as well as the 2016 French crime that inspired it, in the same way it hovers over 1967’s IN COLD BLOOD, Richard Brooks’ film adaptation of the Truman Capote “non-fiction novel” that helped establish the true crime genre as we understand it today. We bring that understanding of true crime to our discussion of SAINT OMER on its own terms— in particular how its removed observational style intersects with its complex emotional center — as well as in conversation with IN COLD BLOOD’s own mythologizing of madness. Plus, Scott reviews some 2022 highlights from one of our favorite film distributors in Your Next Picture Show.
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Outro music: “Little Girl Blue” by Nina Simone
Next pairing: Alfonso Cuarón’s CHILDREN OF MEN and HBO’s THE LAST OF US
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