New Wave (Film Movement)

The vast rewards offered by the films of Nagisa Oshima, exemplified by the strange, unclassifiable Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence, are just beginning to be appreciated in America.

These two New York natives discuss growing up in Brooklyn, the allure of the of the Museum of Natural History, and the perils of the autobiographical question in this instant classic from 2005.

Upon the release of Reversal of Fortune, Barbet Schroeder’s film about Claus and Sonny Von Bulow, he speaks to Bette Gordon about the many meanings and incarnations of evil, and the “dramatic possibilities” of fiction.

“When you see a film, you can analyze the director. You know if they’re emphatic, energetic, sensitive or not, empty or full. Everything. To direct you are naked, absolutely.”

The French filmmaker, Jeanne-Pierre Gorin, began making films in 1968. He has collaborated with Jean-Luc Godard. His own films Poto and Cabengo and Routine Pleasures were released in 1979 and 1986, respectively.

Underground USA is a satire of contemporary New York “scenemaking” in the form of an update of Sunset Boulevard, Underground USA is both a personal triumph for its creator, actor-director Eric Mitchell, and a further indication of the importance of New York’s new-wave film movement.