The Complete Podcast

Matthew Gasteier

The Complete is dedicated to taking chronological journeys through the most rewarding filmographies in cinema. Each season covers one director, with each episode focusing on one feature film from their catalog. The first season was dedicated to Stanley Kubrick, while the second season covered Elaine May, the third focused on Krzysztof Kieślowski, and our fourth season covered Satoshi Kon. Our current season explores the films of Agnès Varda.

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69 episodes
Updated Aug 13, 2025

Episodes69

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May 26, 2023 · 1 hr 51 min
The Complete Varda 5 – Lions Love… and Lies
On the fifth episode of the Complete Varda, Matt and Travis discuss another of Varda’s unique explorations, 1969’s Lions Love (…and Lies was added at some point after the initial release). Filmed during Varda’s first stint in Los Angeles, the movie is largely formless and flirts with the line between documentary and fiction in a way that would define much of Varda’s later work. We discuss these fascinating new areas of exploration, and also cover the two shorts Varda made during this time in northern California, Uncle Yanco and The Black Panthers. The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd Travis Trudell: Letterboxd
Apr 28, 2023 · 1 hr 34 min
The Complete Varda 4 – Les Creatures
On the fourth episode of the fifth season, Matt and Travis welcome their first guest of the season, the eternally wise and effortlessly cool David Blakeslee of Criterion Reflections, to discuss one of Agnès Varda’s most unusual and idiosyncratic films, 1966’s Les Creatures. We discuss the unusual status of the film as Varda’s most commercial and most experimental movie, along with the film’s context within the larger FNW sci-fi adventures of the mid to late 60s. The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd Travis Trudell: Letterboxd David Blakeslee: Criterion Reflections | Facebook
Mar 27, 2023 · 2 hr 9 min
The Complete Varda 3 – Le Bonheur
On the third episode of the fifth season, Matt and Travis discuss one of Varda’s most insidious works of cinematic irony, Le Bonheur. Created in the wake of her international success with Cleo, Varda’s third feature is a joyful evocation of man’s ability to find happiness under any condition.. or a viciously funny and damning critique of the patriarchy, wrapped up in a bright and shiny little package. We discuss the gap between what the film seems to be and what it really is, along with its impressive technique and visual sumptuousness in the director’s first fictional work fully in color. The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd Travis Trudell: Letterboxd
Feb 25, 2023 · 1 hr 44 min
The Complete Varda 2 – Cléo from 5 to 7
On the second episode of the fifth season, Matt and Travis quickly encounter Varda’s most famous and praised film, the New Wave masterpiece Cléo from 5 to 7. Made seven years after her debut, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a portrait of a young woman waiting for medical test results and wandering through contemporary Paris in real time. We discuss Varda’s role in the FNW movement, her use of narrative and technical devices to present her feminist themes, and the film’s enduring legacy and new appearance on the 2022 Sight and Sound list of the best films ever made. The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd Travis Trudell: Letterboxd
Jan 24, 2023 · 2 hr 9 min
The Complete Varda 1 – La Pointe Courte
On the first episode of the fifth season, Matt and Travis begin their discussion of the films of Agnès Varda with her debut feature, La Pointe Courte. Barely screened upon completion but seen by a handful of hugely influential filmmakers and cinephiles, the film is now regarded as the first film of the French New Wave and a pioneering work in all of French cinema. We also discuss Varda’s three shorts she made in the interim between her debut and her second film: L’opéra-mouffe, Ô saisons, ô châteaux, and Du côté de la côte. The Complete Social: Twitter | Facebook Matt Gasteier: Letterboxd Travis Trudell: Letterboxd
Jul 23, 2021 · 1 hr 39 min
The Complete Kon 6 – Wrap Up with Andrew Osmond
For the final episode of the season, Matt and Travis are joined by Andrew Osmond, a writer and journalist who specializes in film and animation and the author of Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist, the only book in English that focuses entirely on Kon. We discuss his interest in animation and anime in particular, along with … Continue reading The Complete Kon 6 – Wrap Up with Andrew Osmond →
Jun 3, 2021 · 1 hr 41 min
The Complete Kon 5 – Paprika
Satoshi Kon’s final film is the culmination of his career up to this point: an amalgamation of his most ambitious technical experimentation and the meta and philosophical themes deeply infused into all of his films, here made literal in a story that provides an opportunity for Kon’s vision to play out in a free-flowing manner. … Continue reading The Complete Kon 5 – Paprika →
Apr 16, 2021 · 2 hr 29 min
The Complete Kon 4 – Paranoia Agent
For the fourth episode, Matt and Travis cover the epic and extraordinary Paranoia Agent, Kon’s 13-episode television series. The first and only thing Kon did for TV began as a combination of many of his smaller ideas and story concepts that didn’t have a home but eventually morphed into something more ambitious and far-reaching. We … Continue reading The Complete Kon 4 – Paranoia Agent →
Jan 5, 2021 · 1 hr 33 min
The Complete Kon 3 – Tokyo Godfathers
For the third episode, Travis and Matt discuss the magical comedy adventure Tokyo Godfathers, Kon’s third feature. We discuss the vividly rendered central characters, the small details and recurring motifs that Kon layers into his work, and the departure from the reality/fantasy merging of his two previous films. We wanted to get this out for … Continue reading The Complete Kon 3 – Tokyo Godfathers →
Dec 2, 2020 · 1 hr 50 min
The Complete Kon 2 – Millennium Actress
In this episode, Matt and Travis cover Satoshi Kon’s second feature, Millennium Actress. In many ways a reworking of the themes and techniques Kon explored in his debut, the film is nevertheless an entirely different viewing experience: an uplifting and deeply moving exploration of a woman’s life in movies and her quest to find the … Continue reading The Complete Kon 2 – Millennium Actress →
Oct 24, 2020 · 2 hr
The Complete Kon 1 – Perfect Blue
On the first episode of our fourth season, Matt and Travis begin to work through the catalog of Satoshi Kon, our first Japanese filmmaker and the first to work in the medium of animation. We talk about Kon’s life and anime before diving into his debut feature, Perfect Blue. One of the great animated thrillers, … Continue reading The Complete Kon 1 – Perfect Blue →
Aug 29, 2020 · 1 hr 27 min
The Complete Kieślowski 19 – Wrap Up
On the final episode of the season, we reflect on the films we’ve watched over the past two years and the legacy of Kieślowski. We also cover films produced after his death that were associated with him through scripts and other connections, plus the books we’ve enjoyed along the way. We end with our final … Continue reading The Complete Kieślowski 19 – Wrap Up →
May 29, 2020 · 1 hr 35 min
The Complete Kieślowski 18 – Three Colors: Red
For the last of our episodes on Kieślowski’s final work, the Three Colors trilogy, we are joined again by Ericca Long, co-host of The Magic Lantern Podcast to discuss Red, the director’s final work before retiring and soon after passing away from complications during heart surgery. We discuss the film’s depiction of its female protagonist … Continue reading The Complete Kieślowski 18 – Three Colors: Red →
Apr 16, 2020 · 1 hr 36 min
The Complete Kieślowski 17 – Three Colors: White
For the second of our episodes on Kieślowski’s final work, the Three Colors trilogy, we are joined again by Ericca Long, co-host of The Magic Lantern Podcast to discuss White, the second film in the series. A surprising departure in a number of ways from the director’s previous two films, White represents a return to … Continue reading The Complete Kieślowski 17 – Three Colors: White →
Mar 19, 2020 · 2 hr 6 min
The Complete Kieślowski 16 – Three Colors: Blue
For the first of our episodes on Kieślowski’s final work, the Three Colors trilogy, we are joined by Ericca Long, co-host of The Magic Lantern Podcast to discuss Blue, the first film in the series. The second film Kieślowski made with international financing, Blue is another towering work of European arthouse cinema, yet remains surprisingly … Continue reading The Complete Kieślowski 16 – Three Colors: Blue →
Feb 3, 2020 · 2 hr 6 min
The Complete Kieślowski 15 – The Double Life of Veronique
For the first post-Dekalog episode, Travis and Matt welcome Dave Eves and Becky D’Anna, a couple of cinephiles and Bergman experts, to discuss The Double Life of Veronique. This film was Kieślowski’s first partially French-financed movie, and the first after his newfound international fame. It was also his first movie since the fall of the … Continue reading The Complete Kieślowski 15 – The Double Life of Veronique →
Dec 22, 2019 · 2 hr 39 min
The Complete Kieślowski 14 – Dekalog Wrap-Up with Michał Oleszczyk
For our final episode on the Dekalog, Travis and Matt welcome Michał Oleszczyk, a film critic and scholar based in Poland who has contributed to outlets such as Fandor and rogerebert.com. He recently curated a Kieślowski film festival at the director’s archives in Sokołowsko, Poland, and we were thrilled to have him on to discuss … Continue reading The Complete Kieślowski 14 – Dekalog Wrap-Up with Michał Oleszczyk →
Nov 16, 2019 · 2 hr 37 min
The Complete Kieślowski 13 – Dekalog 9 & 10
To close out our 6-part miniseries covering the individual episodes of the Dekalog, Matt and Travis welcome Daisuke Beppu, who hosts a wonderful YouTube channel covering the Criterion Collection and other film and home media topics. We discuss episodes 9 and 10 of the series, which stand out in distinctive ways. For episode 9, we...
Oct 19, 2019 · 1 hr 56 min
The Complete Kieślowski 12 – Dekalog 7 & 8
For part 5 of our 6-part miniseries on Kieślowski’s monumental Dekalog television series, Matt and Travis welcome friend of the show and chief admin of the Criterion Considered group on Facebook Tim Leggoe. We discuss the next two episodes in the Dekalog, 7 and 8, which both focus on a pair of female characters and...
Sep 11, 2019 · 2 hr 1 min
The Complete Kieślowski 11 – Dekalog 6 & A Short Film About Love
Matt and Travis are joined by David Blakeslee of the invaluable Criterion Reflections podcast to discuss the second Dekalog episode that was expanded into a feature, episode six, which would be titled A Short Film About Love in its feature version. We discuss the morally sticky nature of both the story and the film itself,...