Drive My Car & Benedetta (Movie Squad Podcast #61)

Tristan Fidler and Simon Miraudo don their monocles and berets to review some acclaimed international films for RTRFM’s Breakfast host Taylah Strano on this week’s Movie Squad pod.

First up, Simon discusses Drive My Car, the first Japanese film to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. The usually-impatient critic explains why this three-hour Haruki Murakami adaptation is actually worth your time; it focuses on an actor and theatre-maker who develops a friendship with his quiet driver while contemplating the enigmatic and mysterious end to his marriage. It has been nominated for four Academy Awards. 

Then, Tristan delves into Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta, inspired by the wild true story of a nun who convinces her convent that she’s making miracles happen all while pursuing a steamy affair with another young woman. Oh, and there’s a plague happening just outside the convent’s gates that Benedetta claims only she can keep out. Simon and Tristan share their divergent thoughts on the controversial R-rated pic and whether it goes too far… or not far enough.

Both are now showing in Australian cinemas.