Richard Linklater on Paul Schrader, Mishima & More.

The AFS Jewels In The Wasteland II series, programmed by Austin Film Society founder and artistic director Richard Linklater, wrapped up earlier this month with an archival 35mm screening of MISHIMA: A LIFE IN THREE CHAPTERS.

It’s appropriate that a Paul Schrader film would cap our screening series focusing on the years 1984-1986, because, during that era, Schrader was one of the biggest filmmaking and screenwriting heroes of young Richard Linklater, who had not yet made his first feature, but who was already running the film society and plotting his career.

MISHIMA doesn’t screen around much and that’s a shame because the films set-pieces and designs don’t translate well to the small screen and you need maximum visual impact to get the poetic resonances of the story. It’s a truly powerful film when seen in a theater.

Here is Linklater’s introduction to the film and our post-movie discussion, hitting on a lot of topics both relevant and not. Enjoy.