The Ministry of Film
The art and politics of classic films. Presented by Carolina Saludes and Robin McGhee
Episodes
33 episodes
The Piano (1993)
Carolina and Robin go down under to discuss the feminist classic that is Jane Campion's The Piano (1993). Politics include: life in the 1800s being pretty sucky for women, the unbearable weight of English cricket club politics being...
The Odyssey (2026)
Robin and Carolina take a detour from the usual schedule to talk about THE blockbuster of the summer, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. Politics include: 3,000 of theorising about Odysseus' motives, the MAGA right-wing press going bo...
Taxi Driver: Part 2
Carolina and Robin come back for part two of their deep dive into the heart of darkness of New York City, a young angry man, and rampant capitalism.Politics include: Bobby de Niro raging his own Vietnam War on the streets of New York dur...
Taxi Driver: Part 1
Robin and Carolina stay in the depths of New York City, this time looking at all-time loser incel Travis Bickle in Martin Scorsese's seminal Taxi Driver. There was so much to say that, for the first time, the episode will be split into two part...
Léon: The Professional
Carolina and Robin step into the world of the 90s New York Italian mafia (with a side of daddy issues) in Luc Besson's 'Léon: The Professional'.Politics include: Italians called Fat Tony leading the New York underworld; corrupt cops play...
Alice in Wonderland (1951) and Alice (1988)
'Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull for life to go on in the common way'Robin and Carolina come back from their brief hiatus to discuss not one, but two ...
Lincoln (2012) with Jeevun Sandher MP
Carolina is joined by UK Member of Parliament and Junior Minister Jeevun Sandher to discuss the ultimate blast from the past political historical drama Lincoln (2012), from Steven Spielberg. Because who better to discuss a jobbing p...
Waterloo (1970) with Matthew Palmer
Robin and Carolina are joined by writer and former British Army soldier Matthew Palmer to discuss the best (and hammiest) film about Napoleon Bonaparte.Politics include: everything you needed to know about the egomaniac, manipulative, co...
Brief Encounter with Groovy Movies
Robin and Carolina join the wonderful Lily Austin and James Brailsford from the Groovy Movies podcast for a discussion on the most swoony, heartachy British film of all time, Brief Encounter (1945). Politics include: the very univer...
Alien (1979)
Carolina and Robin celebrate ONE WHOLE YEAR of The Ministry of Film with Ridley Scott's 'oh-god-the-terror-of-childbirth' haunted-house Halloween special Alien (1979). Politics include: the insane gender dynamics of a film about mot...
Pan's Labyrinth
This spooky season, Robin and Carolina delve into the mystical forest of fauns and folklore with Pan's Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro's modern classic tale from 2006. Politics include: why you would never find Franco inside Pan's Lab...
Toy Story (1995)
Carolina and Robin revisit our collective childhoods with Toy Story, the ultimate Pixar classic, where Marx's theory of the proletariat meets the best Mr Potato gags you've ever seen.Politics include: surveillance capitalism, the rise of...
A Separation (2011)
Robin and Carolina get into the autumn spirit with the incredibly successful Iranian domestic drama 'A Separation'. Politics include: why not every Iranian film has to be about Iranian politics, how every Iranian film necessar...
BONUS: Bend it like Beckham
Carolina and Robin take you back to 31st July 2025, when the Lionesses won the UEFA Women's Euros (again!), by way of the brilliantly prophetic Bend it Like Beckham (2002).Politics include: the hypocrisy of families from all cultures, ho...
Trainspotting
Robin and Carolina choose life, choose dental insurance, choose the best f*cking Scottish film ever made.Politics include: the working-class communities of Scotland in the 1980s that turned to drugs as a form of protest, Danny Boyle crea...
Jurassic Park vs Jurassic World
Carolina and Robin go on a summer blockbuster adventure, comparing the totemic dinosaur film Jurassic Park (1993) with its on-paper extremely similar reboot Jurassic World (2015). Politics include: why a film about dinosaurs that (i...
Eraserhead
Robin and Carolina embrace the surreal with Eraserhead, the film featuring possibly the creepiest baby in cinematic history.Politics include: honestly, not very many - but the baby really is very scary. And there's a lot about Christian ...
Spirited Away
Carolina and Robin talk about Spirited Away, Japan's most successful film of all time, and likely one of the best films about life in a ghost bathhouse.Politics include: how said bathhouse is maybe a metaphor for oppression, but also a r...
The Wizard of Oz
Robin and Carolina discuss the Wizard of Oz, the most-watched film of all time, and likely the children's film with the most religious, LGBTQ+ and feminist theories around it.Politics include: how Dorothy is the ultimate feminist, queer ...
BONUS: Conclave
Carolina and Robin are back in your ears for a bonus episode to mark the best real-life sleepover that is the Papal Conclave.Politics include: faith and politics being quite icky together, how the West Wing really did dictate political a...
The Zone of Interest
Carolina and Robin take you through one of the worst calamities in history and the people behind it in domestic-drama-turned-holocaust-film The Zone of Interest (2023).Politics include: literal Nazis, how there was no God in the house of...
Seven Samurai
Robin and Carolina discuss the best samurai film of all time, Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954). The bandits are mean, our heroes are heroic, and the farmers are just trying to survive.Politics include: how Jaws and Star Wars blatant...
Wallace & Gromit
Carolina and Robin discuss two of Wallace & Gromit's fabulous films: The Wrong Trousers (1993) and Vengeance Most Fowl (2024), two films that confirm that dogs really are better than human beings.Politics include: a murderous penguin...
