00:00Hello and welcome to another episode of our Cultural Review.
00:06I'm Tecumbo Sulaco and joining me today is my fashionable colleague, David Morikant.
00:12You look great. How are you, David?
00:14I mean, better after that intro.
00:17A little bit bemused. I don't really get that many compliments of my style.
00:21I'm a man about town, you know. I wouldn't have anybody else...
00:24Never been accused of that. But thank you, my sweet Ravioli.
00:27That is very, very, very kind of you.
00:30Well, fashion is on my mind, not only when I see you, but because this week we've seen some incredible outfits at the Met Gala.
00:38I know you're a big fan. Tell me more.
00:40Listen, I'm not going to lie to you. I'm ambivalent about the Met Gala.
00:44Yeah, I know. You're lying to me already.
00:46Right. But no, it was impressive.
00:48It was nice seeing Janelle Monae in that kind of boxy suit with, you know, with the monocle on.
00:55And, you know, it's always great seeing Dochi and Diana Ross, who looked absolutely incredible.
01:01But I have to admit, it's one of those things.
01:04And I'm going to have to defer to you on this one is I get that it's a big deal for the world of fashion.
01:09I get that it is impressive just seeing all these incredible outfits and everything like that.
01:14And the theme this year, which you'll be able to tell us more about, was interesting.
01:18But to me, I'm having a hard time not comparing it or likening it, at least, to Coachella, in the sense that Coachella is not really about music.
01:29It's about creating a vibe for influencers.
01:32And here I'm questioning, is it still relevant for fashion or is this just a way of very wealthy people to just show off?
01:41Maybe at a time when that could seem a little crass.
01:45Yeah, well, it certainly, I think, is open to accusations of being vulgar and out of place.
01:52Definitely, it's not for me to defend.
01:54I didn't get an invite, despite my evident dandiness here.
01:58That's the real tragedy.
01:59It's, you know, I should maybe give a shout out to M&S for those of the people who follow it.
02:05M&S who?
02:06Yeah, guess where?
02:07But it is an incredibly popular event, as we've seen.
02:13It does bring out not only the pop stars and the politicians.
02:17Kamala Harris, you know, made her first real public appearance since, of course, her failed bid for the White House.
02:24But, you know, on a political level, this being the theme of it being superfine tailoring, black dandyism, the first show since 2003 dedicated to menswear.
02:36It's an important event, yeah, for sure.
02:39But not only for those potential political reasons, but, you know, it's a platform for well-established designers.
02:45You know, we've long sung the praises of Coleman Domingo, Ambassador for Valentino, but also for up-and-coming designers as well.
02:54It's, you know, the world is looking, and it can really make people's careers.
02:59No, absolutely.
02:59And, I mean, clearly it's popular and it works, because I think, if I recall correctly, this year's edition, I think they've had a haul of 31 million, which is, I think, a record for the Met Gala.
03:10So, I mean, good on them, considering, you know, the invites are, I think, 75,000 in order to get a table.
03:18I'm going to get my number straight, 350,000 for a table of 10.
03:23But at the same time, like, so you say black dandyism, and some people really got the assignment.
03:31They looked incredible, but there were some others, as pleasant as it was to see, where you were just wondering, are you just here to just strut your stuff?
03:39I don't know, I felt a little bit bemused by just how you are reflecting a culture, you are honouring it, but what difference are you making to it?
03:49Because where does the money go?
03:50Well, the money is meant to go towards the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
03:55It's a wing which especially looks after costumes and the history of design as well.
04:00But, yeah, you're not sure exactly where the money goes.
04:04I'm not a trustee for MoMA, but it's billed as a charity event.
04:09And what I think is interesting also is that it's a model which lots of European museums now are looking to emulate.
04:17We've already seen this earlier this year when the Louvre had their star-studded bash.
04:23Unfortunately, we, again, didn't get an invite.
04:25But we saw, you know, what is going on with that?
04:28What's a boy to do? What is a boy to do?
04:30You know, you can dress in pink all day, but, yeah, you're not pink.
04:33But, yes, as I say, it is a model which other European institutions are looking to emulate
04:38because it's at these times, straightened times when cultural budgets are being squeezed enormously.
04:46So anything which can generate interest, money to get people into museums.
04:52And we can perhaps see some pictures from the exhibition which will be on at the moment for a couple of months now
04:58where it delves into the history of tailoring and, as you say, celebrates the black culture
05:05and the contribution that many people have made.
05:07OK, David, well, let's shift our focus now to look at the Cannes Film Festival,
05:36the world's greatest and most glamorous film festival, many would say.
05:41What would you got your eye on, your critical eye? Tell us.
05:45Well, one filmmaker in particular who I absolutely adore is coming back to Cannes,
05:52considering her first two films premiered in Cannes.
05:55And she will be in competition, and that's Juliette de Corneau.
05:59And this year she's bringing her film Alpha to competition, which will be released in cinemas after the festival.
06:07There's going to be a staggered release. We're not quite sure when yet.
06:10And we don't really know all that much about the film so far.
06:13We know that it's set in the 80s, in a city that's vaguely mirrored on New York,
06:21and that it follows an 11-year-old girl who has to wrestle with the fact that one of her family members
06:29is taken ill in the backdrop of the AIDS crisis.
06:33She said it's going to be her most personal and most profound work to date,
06:40which is, well, it promises very, very much.
06:43Because as a storyteller, she is, I think, unparalleled when it comes to talking about themes of family,
06:50of nonconformity, of ostracization.
06:54And I'm absolutely giddy to see this in the cinema when it comes out.
06:58Okay, now she's, of course, already down in history as a Palme d'Or winner,
07:04just the second, I think, female Palme d'Or winner.
07:07For people who don't know her, where should they start?
07:10So her first film, Raw, Grave in its original title,
07:14follows a young woman, Justine, who's brilliantly played by Garonce Marie,
07:19who is a lifelong vegetarian.
07:21And she integrates a veterinary school, like her parents did before her,
07:27and where her sister, Alex, currently studies.
07:31And during a particularly vicious set of hazing rituals,
07:37she is forced to eat a raw rabbit kidney.
07:41And obviously, this triggers a rash, considering she's not used to meat,
07:47but it also triggers some urges,
07:50be they sexual and a little bit more intense.
07:54And essentially, first and foremost, it's a coming-of-age film,
07:59and in the same way that Carrie or Ginger Snaps did it.
08:05But here, Juliette Cornu uses the story of cannibalism, essentially,
08:12to say something more,
08:13to genuinely put you in this very claustrophobic atmosphere
08:18and talk about womanhood, about sisterhood,
08:23about the bonds of family,
08:25and certainly about emancipation.
08:29And it's, at times, a very nauseatingly tactile film,
08:35which had the most profound impact on me,
08:38just purely because it really does so well what it sets out to do.
08:44It achieves it completely.
08:46It is breathtaking.
08:48And, in my mind, genuinely one of the strongest films
08:51of the last 25 years.
08:53Okay. And what about her other work?
08:55Well, this is Titan.
08:57This is the film for which she won the Palma d'Or.
09:01In my mind, it's one of the most uncompromising films
09:04to ever win the Palma d'Or.
09:06It's unpredictable and very, very intense.
09:09It follows, for those who haven't seen it,
09:12this model who has an erotic fascination with automobiles,
09:19and she sets off on a murder spree.
09:22We're not here to judge.
09:24To reach their own.
09:26But the thing is,
09:27is that in order to avoid being captured by the authorities,
09:30she assumes the identity of a young boy
09:35who went missing 10 years prior.
09:37And I won't go into any more,
09:41but this is a film a little bit like Raw,
09:44where people kind of tend to stop at,
09:47oh, it's that cannibalism film.
09:48Oh, Titan.
09:49Oh, it's that film where a woman gets impregnated by a car.
09:53And that is true.
09:55But it goes beyond that.
09:57It goes very, very much in some of the themes
09:59that Julia de Cornu, I think, excels at
10:03when it comes to nonconformity,
10:04when it comes to really playing with audiences' sympathies.
10:08But certainly one thing that strikes me,
10:11and which links both films,
10:12and could potentially link it with Alpha,
10:15her upcoming film,
10:17is the fact that these films are actually love stories.
10:19And more than that,
10:23they're films about uncompromised love,
10:27love that knows no boundaries.
10:30Because as we see in Raw,
10:32it is about familial bonds,
10:35about familial and inherited trauma,
10:38but what family members will do
10:39in order to protect each other,
10:41in order to love each other no matter what.
10:43And without spoiling Titan for those who haven't seen it,
10:46the end scene in particular,
10:49is actually incredibly hopeful.
10:52It's like the birth of a new world,
10:54of a stronger world,
10:56and of a world that essentially,
10:58in which there is acceptance.
11:00So really, these films,
11:02no matter how violent and graphic they are,
11:05are very much twisted,
11:08but very intense,
11:10and ultimately rather beautiful love stories.
11:12David, thank you for that in-depth look at Julia De Corno.
11:16We will be back next week
11:17with more on what's on our cultural radar.
11:20Do stay with us for more
11:21on what's happening across Europe this week.
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