pink smoke
PODCAST
presents

In coordination with the release of his newest film, Peterloo, this month The Pink Smoke will be exploring the work of noted curmudgeon and dyspeptic genius Mike Leigh. From his early teleplays to his recent historical dramas, Leigh's focus has stayed constant: the elusive qualities of happiness, the constrictions of family, the friction between the have's and have-not's, the relationship between work and personal fulfillment.

Leigh unusual method for developing his screenplays (and his unique process for working with actors) results in films that are notably chaotic, complex, and spilling over with a sense of life that few artworks can match. We're excited to explore the worlds that Leigh has created; his films provide a seemingly inexhaustible supply of new discoveries, strange notions, startling emotions, and (most importantly) unforgettable characters.

PETERLOO
mike leigh, 2018.

Host John Cribbs is joined on the latest episode of The Pink Smoke podcast by Martin Kessler of Flixwise: Outpost Canada to discuss Mike Leigh's latest film, Peterloo. A historical drama looking at the semi-forgotten massacre at St. Peter's field in 1819, the film sees Manchester-ite Leigh returning to his home turf and somewhat unfamiliar artistic territory. With Vera Drake, Topsy-Turvy and Mr. Turner, historical dramas aren't precisely strange terrain for Leigh, so what makes Peterloo feel like the filmmaker has stepped outside of himself?

The duo discusses why they were unsatisfied by the film, the ways in which it defies and conforms to their expectations of what a historical drama by Mike Leigh would be and their reasons for being excited to go to see it again on opening weekend. The knowledgeable and good-natured Kessler looks for the best in the film, while Cribbs has more trouble getting over the film's ludicrous depiction of the story's villains and it's fairly traditional plotting. Join us as they turn over and over the question: Why is Peterloo the way it is?

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~ APRiL 4, 2019 ~