Jonathan Glazer's 'Birth' (2004)

In this episode, I explore the mystery and power of Jonathan Glazer's 2004 masterpiece, "Birth." This is the most important episode I've ever produced for the podcast. This is the film that defines me, that I can't get out of my system, that has haunted me for over a decade. I have never identified so profoundly with a character as I do with the woman in this film. She is Anna (played by Nicole Kidman), a widow who encounters a 10-year-old boy who claims to be the reincarnation of her dead husband, Sean. For me, "Birth" is a film about grief and ghosts and how we can't always let go of the dead. I talk about my own struggle with grief, how this film is part of my soul, and quote Joan Didion and James Joyce as I chart the emotional impact of this unforgettable movie.

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Original artwork by Dhiyanah Hassan

Full show notes:

Alexandre Desplat's score for Birth on Spotify
Last.fm website
Listen to my episode on The Double Life of Veronique
Sylvia Plath's poems Daddy, Electra on Azalea Plath, and Sheep in Fog
Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking
Listen to my episode on L'avventura
Winter Trees by Sylvia Plath
The Dead by James Joyce
Listen to my episode on Big Little Lies, Broadchurch, and The Keepers
Listen to my episode on La Ceremonie
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier