"City of God" And the Film That Put Brazil On The Cinematic Map

"City of God" And the Film That Put Brazil On The Cinematic Map

City of God (2002), Fernando Meirelles' crime drama set in the favelas of Rio de Janeiro, earned four Academy Award nominations (Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing) and won none, losing three of them to The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Recorded on a working farm outside Nottingham, chickens included, Seb and the Dead Duck team cover why the film was shot in Cidade Alta instead of the real Cidade de Deus, how Meirelles cast non-professional actors from the neighbourhood and trained them for months, and the improvised moments that stayed in the final cut, including the hot-water scene and the opening chicken chase. They dig into its record-breaking run in Brazilian cinemas, its influence on later directors, the Goodfellas and Tarantino comparisons, and Sean Baker's use of non-actors years later. Dead Duck Film Club's next screening: City of God, 25 July at the Bonington Theatre in Arnold, with the Brazilian Cultural Center. Just by being here, you're part of the club. 🦆

"Alpha" And The Saddest Film Julia Ducournau Has Ever Made

Julia Ducournau's third feature Alpha premiered at Cannes 2025, four years after Titane won her the Palme d'Or. France, 2025. Stars Mélissa Boros, Golshifteh Farahani, Tahar Rahim, and Emma Mackey. The film currently sits at 5.9 on IMDB and 57% on Rotten Tomatoes after a divisive Cannes reception. Seb is joined by Bruna and George to cover a 13-year-old getting a tattoo at a party, the in-universe AIDS pandemic that turns the sick into marble statues, the uncle who may or may not still be alive, and the generational trauma threading mother to daughter to brother. They argue over whether the 5.9 on IMDB is fair, why Cannes critics walked out calling it structureless, where Alpha sits next to Raw and Titane, and what David at Severin Films told them about the festival reception. The conversation also touches on We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ginger Snaps, Oppenheimer, and Ari Aster's run from Hereditary and Midsommar to Beau Is Afraid, Eddington, and The Strange Thing About the Johnsons. Sidebar covers Blue Heron, which Seb and Bruna caught on the festival circuit. Spoilers throughout. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a fellow film lover. Just by being here, you're part of the club. 🦆

"The Last Viking" And A Mads Mikkelsen Comedy That Loses Its Nerve

The Last Viking (2025) is the new film from Danish director Anders Thomas Jensen, starring Mads Mikkelsen and Nikolaj Lie Kaas. Jensen's sixth film with both actors broke the Danish box office on opening weekend with 127,000 tickets sold, the biggest Danish live-action opening since 2018. UK release: June 2026. Seb is joined by Bruna, George and Mark for a full spoiler discussion. They cover the bank-robber-and-brother setup, the brother who thinks he is John W. Lennon, the Beatles-patients band, and why the funniest first act of the year falls apart in a second half that saves its worst violence for its two female characters. They break down the Viking parable that frames the film, the director's interview about humour and "some groups," whether the film reads as a dog whistle on trans rights, and the question of casting a neurotypical actor in a neurodivergent role. Warm-up watches: André Is an Idiot, Hokum, Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Kick-Ass, Tuner, and Julia Donaldson's Gruffalo. Films recommended at the end: Another Round, Pusher, After the Hunt. Spoilers throughout. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a fellow film lover. Just by being here, you're part of the club. 🦆

"When Evil Lurks" And Argentina's Answer to The Conjuring

When Evil Lurks (2023) is an Argentinian supernatural horror written and directed by Demian Rugna (Terrified). It premiered at TIFF's Midnight Madness, won Best Feature at Sitges (the first Latin American film to do so in 56 years), and holds a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes with a 6.9 on IMDB. Seb and George talk through Rugna's rejection of religious horror. No crucifixes, no holy water, no prayers. They cover the "cleaner" system and government neglect, the COVID parallels in characters who know the rules but refuse to follow them, and whether the second half's exposition undercuts the mystery. The dog scene, the axe scene, the autistic child's possession through vocal tics (calling Azrael), and the film's subtitle translation all come up. George gives it high marks but wanted a stronger ending. Seb lands on three to three and a half stars. Films mentioned: Terrified, Bring Her Back, The Wailing, The Conjuring, Funny Games, Possum, The Devil Wears Prada 2, The Devil Inside. Spoilers throughout. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a fellow film lover. Just by being here, you're part of the club. 🦆

"Ghost in the Shell" And Why The Matrix Owes It Everything

Ghost in the Shell (1995), directed by Mamoru Oshii and based on Masamune Shirow's manga, was released simultaneously in Japan, the UK, and the US, unusual for anime at the time.A quiet theatrical run in the West, a cult hit on VHS, and then a direct influence on The Matrix: the Wachowskis showed it to Warner Bros executives when pitching their film. Seb and George cover the 82-minute runtime and what Oshii stripped from themanga to get there. They discuss Major's identity crisis, the Puppet Master claiming asylum as a living being, and how both connect to the current AGI race. Covered: the garbage men subplot and manufactured memories, Oshii fighting for the city wandering sequences, and the link to Arthur Koestler's 1967 text The Ghost in the Machine. George argues the merge ending is a metaphor for evolution: old generation dies, new generation inherits. The 2017 remake with Scarlett Johansson gets a full run-through: what gets lost when you gut the philosophy for action. Other films mentioned: Akira, The Matrix, Blade Runner (1982), Videodrome. Warm-up: George on Trust Me, False Prophet (FLDS church documentary, four episodes); Seb on The AI Doc or How I Became an Apocaloptimist 2026. Spoilers throughout. Subscribe, leave a review, and share with a fellow film lover. Just by being here, you are part of the club.