Bonus Ep Saudade & Wastelands
00:31:52
About
It’s another cheeky Welcome To Horror bonus episode, you lucky people! Here’s Chris and Adam’s spoiler free review of 2 more works from writer/director/producer/actor (and all round top man) Kemal Yildirim; his 2021 feature “Wastelands” and its companion piece, the 2017 short “Saudade”. A haunting drama of an isolated woman, estranged from her family and conducting an on/off dysfunctional relationship, shot with Yildirim’s stunning combination of dream-like imagery with very real (and sometimes shocking) domestic moments and a strong streak of folk-horror. Massive thanks to Kemal for giving us the opportunity to see more of his work after “The Haunting of the Lady Jane”. Catch these films where you can.
Transcript
Show full transcript
Lee Good evening everybody. Lee here. regular listeners will know that we recently did a supernatural stories episode or not, depending on your beliefs.
Lee but it seems to have gone down quite well and we've spoken to a few people who said they've got interesting stories of their own.
Lee So as we tempted the idea at the end of our last episode, we're going to do a follow-up at some point.
Lee So if any of you have stories of your own that you think would be interesting that you wouldn't mind us sharing with the listeners.
Lee feel free to either record them and email them over to us at [email protected].
Lee or otherwise you can type them out and send them to us and we will read them out on the show.
Lee if you'd rather not use your name, we will use your first name otherwise, but if you'd rather go under an alias, include that in the message and we'll be sure to use that.
Lee Thanks very much and enjoy the show.
Adam Good evening and welcome to horror.
Adam I'm Adam.
Chris I'm Chris.
Adam And we're here. We're we'll be noticing that Lee is not here.
Adam He is currently.
Chris In his absence, yeah.
Chris Where is he? Where is he off to?
Adam We don't know. He is out and about. The last I saw on the Interpol website was he was spotted somewhere around Berlin, so.
Chris Oh.
Adam Yeah, so who knows, who knows where he may crop up next.
Adam He's very much like the oh I can't remember that now. I was trying to think of it. What was the computer game that where in the world is Carmen.
Chris Carmen Sandiego.
Adam Yeah.
Adam Yeah, so he is the Carmen Sandiego of welcome to horror, so you know.
Adam We don't know. We don't know.
Adam He may be, dear listener, look behind you. He will be in the room.
Chris If you see him.
Adam and yes, we're here. we're we're keeping the keeping the the the show running in in in Lee's absence.
Adam And we're here to discuss well, actually to discuss a couple of couple of films from Kamal Yildrim who we did a bonus episode on his current film The Haunting of the Lady Jane.
Adam And he was very generous enough to let us see a an earlier feature of his as well as a short film that kind of kind of links or kind of is a sort of proof of concept for.
Chris Prequel, yeah, yeah.
Adam Or something along those lines. Yeah.
Chris Same ideas.
Adam Yeah. and so again, we'll we're going to urge we're going to on the side of spoiler-free because these are films that are not necessarily available to get at the moment or what they're, you know, they're they're available, but yeah, they're not I don't believe either's on general like release not on streaming or anything at the moment, so.
Adam which to be honest, is a bit of a shame because I think that he is a really good strong filmmaker.
Adam And I think, you know, hopefully these will as he's building as he's building his sort of portfolio.
Chris Yeah.
Chris So so so do we know so Wastelands, the one we're covering tonight, this was 2020, 2021?
Adam 2021, I believe, yeah.
Chris Yeah. Okay.
Chris And Sal Sal Dad, Sal Dad.
Adam Sal Dad, yeah.
Adam That was that was 2017.
Chris Okay.
Adam So so they're so one's pre and one's post-pandemic.
Chris Yeah, yeah.
Adam In terms of release. Although I believe I believe Wastelands was sort of filmed over quite a period of time.
Adam I think it was as, you know, and with like with a lot of independent filming, it's sort of like, you know, you don't necessarily have a schedule that you can keep to you have to sort of film as you can.
Chris You do what you can, yeah.
Adam Yeah, you know.
Adam So but yeah.
Adam So to start with the the short film Sal Dad, which is a Portuguese word which means an emotional state of melancholic or profoundly nostalgic longing for a beloved yet absent something or someone.
Adam And I think that sums up the the main sort of feel of the film in its own way.
Adam Also apparently in Brazil, there is a day of Sal Dad which is officially celebrated on the 30th of January, yeah.
Chris Oh.
Adam So, although interesting enough that's in that's in Brazil, but not in Portugal.
Adam So it's just yeah.
Adam But
Adam you've got, I mean, basically, Sal Dad is a three-hander.
Adam You've got the main character of Alice played here by Holly Rose Durham, and Wilhelm her father played by Sean Botha.
Chris Yeah, who we saw previously.
Adam Yeah.
Adam In The Haunting of the Lady Jane.
Adam And Kamal himself plays the character of Triss who is Alice's ex-boyfriend as it as it's shown in Sal Dad.
Adam and yeah.
Adam I mean, basically it's I mean both both of these films are, they have a very thematically as well as the fact that characters are apparently sort of in both of them as I say, you know.
Adam So Sean Botha is the father will help us.
Chris Yeah, so we've got some of the same actors.
Adam Yeah.
Adam Some of the same actors and Kamal is playing the the character and the same character again in Wastelands.
Adam and
Adam yeah, I mean, I think.
Adam It's, I think to discuss Sal Dad before discussing.
Adam It's it's a bit of a tricky one because we're trying to obviously remain fairly spoiler-free.
Adam But essentially it's, the the main character it's her sort of going through stages of grief for a relationship that is ended.
Chris Yeah.
Adam So and pretty much a not particularly healthy relationship.
Chris So that's it, yeah, essentially the whole thing is her grappling with this difficulty and the dysfunction.
Chris and I suppose it's like yeah, it certainly appears to be mental illness, but it's it's caused by the life events or like, you know, it's yeah, it is just a sort of very dark view through her her psychology.
Adam Yes.
Adam It's yeah, it's her mental state which is not in a good place, longing for a relationship that was not in a good place.
Adam And actually has been has clearly been ended by by by Triss the boyfriend because it's not healthy.
Adam which is basically and to not sort of take any power away from either film, but it's very much a sort of like let's rail until we shag.
Chris Yeah.
Chris Very dysfunctional, very unhealthy, really.
Adam Very unhealthy.
Chris And and but how how do you you know, it's yeah breaking the kind of cycle is very difficult.
Chris Because the yeah, the emotional attachment, it's like you're the only happiness you're getting is from some of those actions and really they end up just causing you more pain.
Adam Well, it's it's like any form of codependent relationship, I suppose is always sort of like, well, the good the good times are good, but they are literally in the moment sensation rather than any sort of yeah. It's not it's not a sustained good time or you know.
Chris Long-term elation.
Adam It's clearly falling apart.
Chris Yeah, you're only really heading towards some kind of destruction ultimately.
Adam Yeah.
Adam And it's sort of at one point she's sort of meets up with Alice's character meets up with her father, and they have an argument, basically to do with the fact that he is with his like with his new wife and new family and that's obviously a sort of sort of resentment.
Adam and then it ends sort of yeah, again, ends on a severely dark note.
Adam And I would say prob probably again, it's it's definitely worth a worth a watch as part of the package.
Adam But I don't think it's something that it's it's not it's not like a pre it's not like a prequel or anything else like that. It's not something you'd need to watch to understand the Wastelands.
Adam I think the Wastelands stands on its own and you know, you kind of get from Sal Dad the sort of it's almost like a compressed shot of.
Chris Yeah, it it gives you a clear taste of what you're going to get.
Adam Yeah, it's like it's like a sort of it's like a pure hit of the emotional state that is sort of shown through the Wastelands.
Adam but I mean all in all, I think it's I think it's like 20 it's basically about 20 minutes.
Adam and but I mean as we said with The Haunting of the Lady Jane, you I can't fault his.
Adam Either like basically his his language of cinema.
Chris So yes, yeah, the overall effect like is is very good.
Chris It it seems to deliver you know, all of the elements seem to work well together to give you that that very dark you know, almost subtly brutal effect sometimes.
Adam Yes, actually that's very true because it's because the weird thing is is it obviously it sort of it's that thing of sort of memory bleeding into the present.
Adam It, you know, it can be quite dreamlike, it can be quite sort of impressionistic and, you know, he I mean from this the lady The Haunting of Lady Jane and everything.
Adam You know, his cinematography is you know.
Chris It's excellent.
Adam Lovely.
Adam You know, I mean probably the wrong I don't know whether I was like.
Chris Well, it is.
Adam But.
Chris Yeah, yeah, this is I guess these are both somewhat relentless.
Chris whereas that was interesting the difference with The Haunting of Lady Jane, he has added a lot more elements of humor and some light entertainment, yeah.
Adam Yeah.
Adam so I think I think if we move on if we move on to the Wastelands because a lot of a lot of what we'd talk about with Sal Dad.
Chris Yeah.
Adam more so with the Wastelands and you just get an expanded story.
Adam but basically this in this iteration of the story, Alice is now played by Natasha Linton who was also in The Haunting of the Lady Jane.
Adam And she really is the focus of, you know, without a shadow of a doubt, she is the focus of the movie and the movie would not work without her.
Chris Yeah, it's her and it's her mind and what she's going through that is, yeah, like you're seeing it as close to her as possible, really.
Chris And she she absolutely does play a very impressively tortured soul.
Adam Yes.
Adam And really. I mean, so I mean the plot of the plot wrong sort of why I put it but but the Wastelands is essentially similar sort of story so you've got Alice who is again clearly extremely unhappy, extremely, you know, depressed, clearly isolated and not connecting with anyone, she's thinking about her, she's thinking about her relationship with previous relationship with her ex, which again, a very destructive, clearly not healthy relationship.
Adam And that's literally all she's got, the present the present means nothing to her.
Chris But that is the only yeah.
Adam She's just sort of stuck in this cycle of you know, sort of.
Adam But the interesting element which is brought in with the Wastelands is that she also is performing rituals.
Chris
Adam And it's sort of it's not really I mean, the thing I thing I really love loved about the start of this is that there's probably what is it like about 15 or 20 minutes before you get any dialogue.
Chris Yeah.
Adam Which which sounds like it's sounds like it's not going to work, but you get, you know what's happening.
Chris It's it's yeah, it's getting the experience, you still get a sense of what's going on.
Chris
Chris Yeah.
Adam It's show don't tell, so it's essentially, you know, it's essentially the right way to make a film.
Adam You know, it's it's done through image and impression and you know, the sequences rather than.
Chris Yeah, I suppose it's it's like arthouse.
Adam Yeah.
Chris Very Yeah.
Adam Very much so.
Adam Yeah, it's abstract is yeah, again very good, but.
Adam I think that yeah, so she's sort of like in this cycle of depression and clear unhappy.
Chris Dysfunction, yeah, not things are not going well.
Chris And and yeah, and the only positive really is this relationship with her father.
Chris And and then so so her father comes back into this one and he he has a a fatal.
Adam Yeah, like he has Huntington's.
Chris So it's like a degenerative disease that basically.
Adam Attacks you so that you are unable to look after yourself because it basically destroys your ability to physically act and then eventually kills you.
Chris But and I don't think it's spoiling to say that she essentially has hated him for many years.
Adam It's very yeah, it's very clear because it's clearly. And that's the interesting bit is you get so in this one again, William has Wilhelm has remarried, he's married a a character called Dolores who basically comes to Alice and says.
Chris Clearly, yeah.
Adam Your father's got this disease, we're not together anymore, you're going to have to look after him.
Chris Yeah.
Adam So immediately there's clearly she has not seen him, she's not seen her father for some time, they're clearly very like they're clearly estranged and then he is literally sort of for want of better expression, or certainly how Alice would see it, he is literally dumped on her doorstep as look after this person because no one else is going to.
Chris Yeah.
Adam And it's sort of and it certainly exacerbates her you know, her mental deterioration.
Chris Well, I mean, which makes her mental deterioration.
Chris Like to to think if you were actually in this situation like so yeah, I mean just having to look after someone in that state is difficult. I mean that's somewhat traumatic anyway, then it's also it's your father who you have had a very difficult relationship with.
Adam
Chris Because you think certain things you've, you know, interpreting or understanding what they were to you, yeah, and trying to deal with that and and the dysfunctional relationship she's got with her ex.
Adam It's the.
Adam Who then who then she basically in in a sort of attempt to deal with the fact that she's now looking after her father, she gets back in a relationship with him.
Adam And it's still absolutely all kinds of up.
Chris At least.
Adam you know.
Adam And much as I should have said at the start of this that there won't be spoilers, but there probably will be swearing.
Adam I mean, Kamal was very kind in sort of like when he sent over, he was like, I'm going to make this, you know, I'll give you a trigger warning.
Chris This is not for everyone.
Adam There is. This is not for everyone, there is a lot of there's, you know, there's a lot of nudity, there's a lot of sex in it, but it's not it's not titillating.
Chris So that's what I was going to say that.
Chris He he really I think filmed that really well in that there's something like it's it's got almost I don't know if it's like elegance, but it's it's filmed well, but yeah, in no way is it sort of erotic or as you said titillating.
Adam No.
Adam It's it's quite.
Chris It's clearly yeah, like and they have absolutely captured that just right. We're like yeah, no, that's not, you know, there's nothing feels good about that.
Adam Yeah, this doesn't look like, you know, you're well, you shouldn't be looking at it anyway in that sort of and it definitely definitely doesn't. You wouldn't be looking at it going, oh, that looks like everyone's having a good time.
Chris Yeah, no.
Chris And and yet it's still still it doesn't look trashy, like I was trying to imagine like how difficult that might be to film scenes like that and and get it across the correct way.
Adam Everything everything about it it has a desperation in it.
Chris Yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Adam Which is, you know.
Adam There's there's nothing, there's nothing to sort of suggest that this is, you know, this is anything that's really you know, this is this is not healthy, this is not good.
Adam And it's yeah, he he manages to film it. It it reminded me a bit of actually reminded me a bit of Antichrist, the Lars von Trier film.
Adam I don't know if you've seen that.
Adam But that's like has a similar sort of thing where there's like a lot of there's a lot of sex, but it's all very sort of cold and brutal and as part of a downward spiral that is clearly no one's, you know, no one's coming out of it with anything good, you know, it's.
Adam And.
Adam Yes, so and so essentially it's yeah, the the sort of it's the story, it's that that's the the sort of story of it and then that as it sort of progresses resolves into an ending that is ambivalent and the one thing that I would say is that.
Adam because I know when Kamal said about like suggested that we view it, he said, oh he said, oh it's not horror, but it is horror adjacent.
Chris Yeah.
Adam There's there's distinctly there's an ambivalence to it that could be Alice's mental deterioration or there could actually be something more to it.
Chris Yeah, there's scope there to interpret.
Adam There is definitely.
Chris How you prefer, yeah.
Adam Absolutely.
Adam And it has so it has a, I I think someone someone I saw like a someone talking about it and they said that it was they wasn't they weren't sure whether it was social realism dressed up as folk horror or folk horror dressed up as social realism.
Chris Okay.
Adam You know, where it's not sort of.
Adam And it's and again, I think that was something that The Haunting of Lady Jane sort of earlier in its shows its hand earlier by definitely being something of a supernatural.
Adam Whereas this you could read it absolutely that this is just someone's mental health.
Adam And you're you're definitely viewing it from Alice's mind.
Chris Yeah, yeah.
Adam And so, you know, with with all the unreliableness that that could entail.
Adam And actually, I mean that's something that I really love something again that I like with The Haunting of the Lady Jane and I like with this.
Adam Is that no one has a you don't have any side, you know, no one is everyone you know, Alice who is your main character is not, you know, she is not necessarily always likeable or always sympathetic.
Chris I suppose that's it yeah, that's the true showing like she is what she is.
Adam
Adam And I think like sort of like certainly her relationship with her father is kind of the thing that brings that out where you're like, you know, because she is clearly not, you know, she I mean, it's not a situation that is in any way good, but she is clearly absolutely fighting against it and does not want to sort of she doesn't want to be in this position and she certainly doesn't want to be involved with her father again.
Chris
Chris Yeah.
Adam And actually and but similarly you sort of you don't you as as it goes on you're sort of everyone's motivations do seem, you're not like for example, when the stepmother sort of says, oh, it.
Adam That feels like oh, it's a cruelty of because the way Alice reads it is.
Adam Oh, now he's ill, you don't want to know, but you were perfectly happy to go off with him when it was fine.
Chris Yeah.
Adam But there's no sort of there's no sense that, you know, the stepmother, they've not been together for like some time.
Chris
Adam So it's not, do you know what I mean, it's not quite as cut and dried as she's left him.
Chris I suppose that's yeah, but that's yeah, it is I guess the whole thing really is it's possible to interpret things from your perspective and not necessarily be getting it right.
Adam But exactly.
Chris But it's how it feels and and yeah.
Chris And especially if you are very emotional, it's it's difficult to to perhaps see the or be more reasonable and understanding.
Chris I I guess that, you know, like so many things are complicated and it's sort of, yeah.
Chris How what can you do about them?
Adam Yeah.
Adam And but as a filmmaker, I don't think he shies away from that sort of thing.
Chris Yeah.
Chris So so this is actually based on on I think some of his real experiences.
Adam Yes, he said he I've he said that it was a certainly he described it as his most personal film.
Adam So I don't.
Chris Yeah, okay.
Adam I don't know quite what the what the circumstances are of that, whether it was circumstantial or mental state or what how it sort of. But I mean obviously him being in it, because that's the thing that we didn't obviously he's not in The Lady Jane, but you know, and it's not just his own stuff, Kamal Kamal has appeared in other has appeared in other films, he is an actor as well as a director and producer, etcetera, and writer.
Adam and but yeah, I think but there's no sort of I mean, certainly there's no sense that he's like brought himself in as a you know, hasn't brought himself in to make himself look good.
Chris Yeah.
Adam Because you know, all all as I say, there's a lot of flawed characters.
Chris Oh yeah, yeah.
Adam Yeah.
Adam But I think that the, you also there and also there is one character who again sort of I'm I don't want to give too much away, but would appear to be almost like a sort of like a guide or something not of reality.
Chris But again, Guardian Angel type.
Adam Yeah, but you don't know whether that's actually because Alice is losing it or because that, you know, there is a supernatural slant to the story.
Adam And, you know, I think again, I don't think this is going to be for everyone.
Chris Well.
Adam I don't think this would have the massive appeal that the Lady Jane would.
Chris Yeah.
Chris But I so I think, I was trying to imagine who else really would want to watch it, and I I do think it falls under horror, most of the people who watch horror would be the ones that would be able to say handle such a relentless dark experience.
Chris So yeah, even if it's not strictly what you imagine as horror, so I would absolutely categorize it around that.
Adam Again, it remind it reminded me of something like because I can I can imagine I can imagine not rewatching this for maybe a couple of years or a few and then just suddenly like, I really want to watch that again.
Chris Yeah, potentially. I mean, I was thinking of I could see it similar to The Haunting of Lady Jane, I think there is quite a bit in here to process and get from it. It's just that it is hard going because it's so real, I'd say.
Adam Yeah. I mean there is I mean, I would say again, like we said with the Lady Jane, I think there's there's a relentless repetition in the middle of it to but that kind of needs to be there to reinforce that mindset of where you are stuck.
Chris Just how really would be.
Chris Yeah.
Adam But it could but it could that could go on longer than some people would tolerate.
Adam But funnily enough the stuff it reminded me of is something like say, for example, David Cronenberg's Spider or or even like Possum or something like that.
Adam Where it's very much.
Chris Yeah, definitely.
Adam It's very much the sort of horror of it's the real horror of the dream psychological state in a way.
Adam It's yeah.
Adam I mean I hope we've intrigued people with this.
Chris I think I think that's yeah, some people would get a lot out of watching it. Absolutely.
Adam But I but much like spider, I can see this is a film that I'd be like, I could imagine sort of 10 years down the line going, oh, fuck yeah, that's on.
Adam I've got to watch it because I remember, you know.
Adam So so yeah.
Chris It's definitely intense.
Adam I think.
Chris Yeah.
Adam Yeah, oh, absolutely. This is the sort of thing where yeah, this this is not for the, this is not some light-hearted, this is definitely not one you stick on at a party.
Chris No.
Adam you know, or but then.
Adam You and and as I say, I mean it just looks amazing, I mean there's certain sequences, you've got like for example, when she's talking to her stepmother.
Adam There's a fantastic moment where they're having this very tense, but very sort of tight-lipped sort of conversation and just at the point it explodes into a rail, it cuts outside and it's done through the mirror and you can just see people silently bellowing at each other.
Chris Yeah, that was so.
Chris Okay.
Adam And that is so effective.
Chris Yeah.
Adam And and gives you so much more than actually hearing what the dialogue is, because you don't need it, you just know that that is the breaking point of this sort of relationship.
Chris Yeah, so that's that's a good example of yeah, his skill in filming.
Adam Definitely.
Adam Yeah. And I could I could see and certainly I think for people who dug the Lady Jane, this is definitely if if you if you can if you can handle that darkness, that is definitely this is definitely another one to watch.
Adam And not just because you've got Natasha Linton, she and yeah, I mean she really knocks this out of the park because she is yeah.
Chris Well, yeah, she's great, but but yeah.
Adam Because it.
Adam It is just focused on her and she yeah, really really does it well.
Chris Absolutely.
Adam To the point where I'm sitting there actually, is everything all right at home?
Adam You know.
Chris So.
Chris Yeah.
Adam But but yes, so obviously, yeah.
Chris Me and Chris both give them.
Adam We give it a thumbs up.
Chris Definitely.
Adam And we would say go go seek it out.
Adam If you've not seen Lady Jane, definitely watch the the haunting of the Lady Jane.
Adam And if you like that, if you like what you see there and certainly if you like the way the film is composed.
Chris Yeah.
Chris The dark, yeah.
Chris The overall aesthetic.
Adam Definitely definitely go for the Wastelands. Yeah, definitely seek it out.
Adam So, just a big thanks to big thanks to Kamal for just let me see it and yeah, well done mate.
Chris And we look forward to the next one.
Adam Yes, very much so, very much so.
Adam So, well, hopefully Lee will be back with us by whichever episode is coming up next.
Adam And.
Adam We shall see you then.
Adam So it's a good night from me.
Chris And good night from.
Adam Me.
Adam Oh dear. See, I don't think we're going to I don't think the two Ronnies have got a lot to worry about.
Adam Mostly because they're dead.
Chris They are. Yeah, they could come back.
Adam Well, there's a film.
Adam Right, well, thanks very much for listening everyone.
Adam And good night.
Chris Good night.


