Pi

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🎙️ EPISODE 695: 04.13.23 ραɾƚ σϝ ƚԋҽ DARREN ARONOFSKY ԃιɾҽƈƚσɾ ϝσƈυʂ ʂҽɾιҽʂ Hey, do you like numbers? What about oblique theological references? Do you also like frenetically-paced black-and-white movies set to bad techno music? How 'bout films featuring a strange mix of talented actors alongside amateurs who come off like they got the script three minutes before starting? Self-administered lobotomies? All set in New York's very own The Big Apple, Baby!? Well, look no further fellow cinephile, because 1998's π is the movie for you! All kidding aside (and why do I feel the need to put it aside? — that's fodder for a whole other thing, perhaps), this movie is a classic example of a young, burgeoning auteur who simply wants it all. Does any of this make sense? Probably not, although I can't say for certain 216 digits DON'T hole the key to "stock market" and/or revealing the true name of God.

But let's be honest, regardless of how you feel about any of those things, this is still one pi you're gonna wanna let cool on your windowsill as a cartoon animal (most likely a dog with an overly long snout) floats toward the visible wafts it emits via some kind of dark animated magic. Featuring Breaking Bad/Better Caul Saul's Hector Salamanca alongside the guy who played main character "Max from π," and a host of other vaguely familiar faces who do their best to drown out the one or two aforementioned BAD actors, who are so so bad (most notably the Wall Street firm agent). To be honest, it's kind of a miracle this is as successful as it is and that's almost entirely due to Aronofsky's vision. The set design and editing create a manic canvas for him to scribble his out-there ideas on and while — sure, yeah — they don't really make sense, they're still interesting in theory. (Don't ask me to explain said theory any further though; who do you think I am???)

It's 100% more aesthetically pleasing than it is thought provoking, and that's fine! 20-year-old Me would have (and probably did?) said that he loved it full-stop, too ignorant or scared to admit that he didn't quite get it. But Old Man Me isn't afraid to set the record straight, even if I've technically only gotten stupider over the ensuing two decades. Say La V.

CHRONOLOGICALLY
⫷ EPISODE 694 - (YOU ARE HERE) - EPISODE 696 ⫸

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Pi (stylized as π) is a 1998 American conceptual psychological thriller film written and directed by Darren Aronofsky (in his feature directorial debut). Pi was filmed on high-contrast black-and-white reversal film and title refers to the mathematical constant pi, the story about a mathematician with an obsession to find underlying complete order in the real world, and contrasts two seemingly irreconcilable entities: the imperfect irrationality of humanity; and the rigor and regularity of mathematics, specifically number theory. The film explores themes of religion, mysticism, and the relationship of the universe to mathematics. It was released on December 10, 1998.