+5
Some things about the film that I didn't get to bring up during the podcast:
I was kind of shocked, while editing this podcast, to realize how little we discussed the child who confronts Christian. neiba mentions is a bit as one of three instances in which Christian must face something real. Perhaps we all decided this part spoke for itself, or that this description was adequate, but it's interesting that it's one of the most important storylines, and the thing that ends the film, but actually factored so little into our collective analysis. Probably because the thing the child was representing was represented in a lot of other places, so we ended up discussing the implications more than this specific character/story.
What bugged me during the film--though this was probably intentional--was how needless the escalation was. The situation was easily fixed: tell the kid what happened, say you're sorry for the unintended consequence, and offer to explain it to his parents so he won't be in trouble. But he couldn't even do that! This is a very straightforward conflict with a very straightforward solution, but he can't navigate it at all. Or, to compliment what neiba said throughout the podcast, he can't empathize with the child. If he could, he'd realize quite easily what the child really wanted/needed from him there, without being asked. Instead, he can't wrap his head around even when asked.
We talked a bit about how, in both philosophy and art, people sometimes use terminology to exclude others rather than to illuminate (successfully or not) abstract ideas, and that veered a little into how self-indulgent it can become. It reminded me of a Dave Barry quote who says that Philosophy class in college "involves sitting in a room and deciding there is no such thing as reality and then going to lunch."
Slappy says some cool stuff about the one artist (Oleg the monkey man) challenging the other (Dominic West's character) in a pack-alpha kinda way, showing him he's more dedicated to his craft. I ended up cutting part of my response about this, but I thought it worth mentioning here: it reminded me of The Prestige, which is almost entirely about that exact concept. The two magicians basically have a duel of attrition where they try to figure out which is more obsessed with the craft, where their discomfort, and even outright suffering, are in a sense a form of victory because their willingness to inflict it on themselves is treated as prima facie evidence of their dedication.