Her Head in Films

A life update. I wanted to let people know where I'm at right now and how things are going for me.

Follow me on Letterboxd, Twitter, Tumblr,and Instagram

Subscribe to my newsletter on Substack

In this episode, I talk about Robert Eggers's 2015 film, "The Witch." It looks at a New England Puritan family in the 1600s that is exiled from their community. They go to live in a remote area, and terrifying things begin to happen. The eldest daughter is blamed for these events and accused of being a witch. I talk about witch hunts, the feminist aspects of the film, my very personal reaction to the ending, and much more. There are spoilers in this episode.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

All My Sources

• The Witch blu-ray
• The Burning Times (1990)
• Goddess Remembered (1989)
• Women and Spirituality Trilogy
• Robert Eggers interview with The A.V. Club
• Robert Eggers interview with RogerEbert.com
• Robert Eggers Interview with BFI
• Robert Eggers interview with Wired.com
• Robert Eggers interview with The Verge
• Robert Eggers interview with The Atlantic

In this episode, I talk about the 1945 film "Humoresque." Joan Crawford plays a socialite tormented by her love for a younger man--played by John Garfield--who is a passionate violinist trying to break into the music world. Her money and connections help him find success, but her hard-drinking and intense desire lead to her own self-destruction. I adore this film. I talk about the music in it, how it looks at desire, and much more. As always, there are spoilers in this episode.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• Use the code “CINEMA” to get your first month free at OVID.TV
• My favorite films on OVID
• Kelly Loves Tony
• A Maid for Each
• My episode on Michael Curtiz's Mildred Pierce
• My episode on Jane Campion's In the Cut
• Autumn Leaves
• Franz Waxman
• Isaac Stern
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
• Rebecca by Alfred Hitchcock
• The Postman Always Rings Twice
• Laura
• Double Indemnity
• Leave Her to Heaven
• On the Waterfront
• A Streetcar Named Desire
• Rebel Without a Cause
• My episode on Joachim Trier's Oslo August 31st
• My episode on Wim Wenders's Wings of Desire
• My episode on Vittorio De Sica's Umberto D.
• "Vissi d'arte" sung by Maria Callas
• "China" by Tori Amos
• Susan Sontag's "Reborn"

All My Sources

• Humoresque DVD
• You Must Remember This episode on John Garfield
• You Must Remember This series on Joan Crawford

In this episode, I talk about Michael Curtiz's 1945 film "Mildred Pierce." Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her performance as the title character, a mother who, in the wake of the end of her marriage, starts her own restaurant business and tries to give a better life to her two daughters--Veda and Kay. But her eldest daughter Veda has an insatiable and destructive desire for material possessions and Mildred will stop at nothing to give Veda all that she wants. This is a magnificent film about motherhood and class mobility. I talk about Joan Crawford's life, why she fascinates me as an actress, and I also delve into "Mommie Dearest." As always, there are spoilers in this episode.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• Use the code “CINEMA” to get your first month free at OVID.TV
• My favorite films on OVID
• Painted Landscapes of the Times
• Fresh Kill
• My episode on Michael Haneke's Amour
• Humoresque
• Joan Crawford: The Ultimate Movie Star (2002)
• Mommie Dearest
• My episode on Ingmar Bergman's Autumn Sonata
• Johnny Guitar
• Mildred Pierce by James M. Cain
• My episode on Michael Curtiz's Casablanca
• LuLaRich documentary
• My episode on Ken Loach's I, Daniel Blake

All My Sources

• Criterion Collection edition of Mildred Pierce
• Karina Longworth's six-part series about Joan Crawford on You Must Remember This

In this episode, I talk about Mike Newell's 1991 film, "Enchanted April." It's about four women in 1920s Britain who rent a castle in the Italian countryside. Their vacation in Italy will forever transform their lives. The much-needed break from ordinary life leads to spiritual rejuvenation, a deep connection to nature, and a powerful bond with each other. There are spoilers in this episode.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• My episode on Audrey Wells's Under the Tuscan Sun
• My episode on David Lean's Summertime
• All Things Must Pass by George Harrison
• Aura meditation app
• The Enchanted April by Elizabeth von Arnim
• Four Weddings and a Funeral
• My episode on James Ivory's Maurice
• "Funeral Blues" by W.H. Auden
• The Hours
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• Love Actually
• Pride and Prejudice
• My episode on Girl with a Pearl Earring
• Katherine Mansfield
• "Bliss" by Katherine Mansfield
• "Miss Brill" by Katherine Mansfield
• "The Garden Party" by Katherine Mansfield
• "A Dill Pickle" by Katherine Mansfield
• "The Stranger" by Katherine Mansfield
• "Katherine Mansfield, Virginia Woolf, and the Benefits of Jealous Friends" (The Paris Review)
• The Great Beauty
• My episode on L'avventura
• My episode on Umberto D.
• My episode on Journey to Italy
• My episode on Joanna Hogg's Unrelated
• The White Lotus

In this episode, I talk about Audrey Wells's 2003 film, "Under the Tuscan Sun." I've loved this film since I was a teenager. It stars Diane Lane as a woman who goes through a devastating divorce and goes to Italy and renovates a house. In the process of this home renovation, she reconnects with life and experiences emotional renewal. For me, this film is really about a woman who survives heartbreak and creates a new life for herself. This episode contains spoilers.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• Belinda Carlisle - Heaven is a Place on Earth
• Black Mirror: San Junipero
• My episode on Brokeback Mountain
• The Great Beauty
• My episode on James Ivory's Maurice
• My episode on David Lean's Summertime
• My episode on Joanna Hogg's Unrelated
• My episode on Michelangelo Antonioni's L'avventura
• Unfaithful
• Sideways

All My Sources:

• Under the Tuscan Sun DVD
• Diane Lane Answers Every Question We Have About Under the Tuscan Sun (Vulture.com)

In this episode, I talk about Michael Haneke's controversial and thought-provoking 1997 film, "Funny Games." It's a thriller that breaks all the rules and raises questions about the representation of violence in mass media. A family is terrorized in their vacation home by two young men who take enjoyment in brutality and degradation. Haneke uses surprising and unexpected techniques to confront the audience of his film and to make us think deeper and more critically about the violence and suffering we see in movies and television. This episode contains spoilers.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• My episode on Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher
• My episode on Bong Joon-ho's Memories of Murder
• My episode on Three Colors: Blue
• My episode on Big Night
• My episode on Elem Klimov's Come and See
• My episode on Michael Haneke's Amour
• Loeb and Leopold
• Mulholland Drive
• My episode on The Lives of Others
• The Cheshire Murders
• The Murder of Joan, Michelle, and Christe Rogers

All My Sources

• Criterion Collection edition of Funny Games
• Michael Haneke: Interviews
• Funny Games: Don't You Want to See How it Ends? (Criterion.com)

In this episode, I talk about Michael Haneke's 2012 film, "Amour." It's about Georges and Anne, an elderly Parisian couple who have their lives turned upside down after Anne suffers a stroke. This is a deeply devastating film that resonated with me. For over a year now, my mom has been struggling with her health and I've become a caregiver for her. I talk about the difficult experience of caring for someone and watching them suffer. I hope that, by sharing my experience, I can help others or just make them feel less alone. This episode contains major spoilers.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• My episode on Fish Tank
• My episode on Oslo August 31st
• My episode on Two Days, One Night
• My episode on Wendy and Lucy
• Funny Games
• Cache
• My episode on The Piano Teacher
• My episode on Come and See
• Shame
• Hunger
• Cries and Whispers
• Hiroshima Mon Amour

All My Sources

• Amour blu-ray
• Michael Haneke: Interviews
• "INTERIORS: An Analysis of Space in the Oscar-Nominated Film Amour" (Arch Daily)
• Indiewire Interview with Michael Haneke
• Hollywood Reporter review of Amour

In this episode, I'm talking about Jane Campion's 2009 film, "Bright Star." It's about the brief but beautiful love story between the poet John Keats and a young woman named Fanny Brawne. John Keats is considered one of the greatest poets who ever lived but he died young, before he and Fanny could create a life together. Their romance was marked by distance and the ever-present shadow of death but his passionate letters to her--which are featured throughout the film--reveal how deeply he was in love with Fanny and how much she meant to him. I talk about the relationship between Keats and Fanny, how the film shows the precarious life of a writer and explores the importance of poetry in our lives, and much more.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• My episode on Jane Campion's The Piano
• My episode on Jane Campion's In the Cut
• Bright Star book
• Love Letters: Vita and Virginia
• Violet to Vita : The Letters of Violet Trefusis to Vita Sackville-West, 1910-1921
• Open Me Carefully: Emily Dickinson's Intimate Letters to Susan Huntington Gilbert Dickinson
• Kate Zambreno interview with The Millions

All My Sources

• Bright Star DVD
• John Keats biography (Poetry Foundation)

In this episode, I talk about Jane Campion's 2003 film, "In the Cut." Meg Ryan plays, Frannie, an English teacher who becomes embroiled in a murder investigation after parts of a woman's body are found in her garden. She may have even seen the murder victim shortly before the crime. After the lead detective on the case interviews her, the two of them become involved in a dark, torturous relationship. "In the Cut" is a deeply erotic and feminist film that centers female sexuality and female pleasure. It also explores the dark side of desire and the complicated relationships between men and women. There are spoilers in this episode. I also talk explicitly and openly about sex.

Consider making this podcast sustainable by supporting it on Patreon.

Subscribe to the Her Head in Films Newsletter.

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Instagram.

Original logo by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full Show Notes:

• My episode on Jane Campion's The Piano
• My episode on Lynne Ramsay's Morvern Callar
• My episode on The Double Life of Veronique
• To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
• My episode on Michael Haneke's The Piano Teacher
• In the Cut book by Susanna Moore
• Out of the Past
• My episode on Singin' in the Rain
• "The Uses of the Erotic: The Erotic as Power" by Audre Lorde
• The Silence
• Black Swan
• My episode on Francois Ozon's Under the Sand
• My episode on Blue is the Warmest Color
• Blue Valentine

My Sources:

• Charlie Rose interview with Jane Campion, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Meg Ryan
• BBC interview with Jane Campion