No. They are completely stand alone. There’s not even a single reference to the first film.

It is certainly his 8 1/2 and it might be blasphemous to say, but I actually prefer it to 8 1/2 because it hits a little closer to home for me personally.

I get why it’s not some people’s thing. But man this movie spoke to me on a deep level. The idea of moving on from your place of origin and how you represent that in your work is something that I deal with a lot. The idea of being true to your roots big also prospering in your new life is a personal issue for me and I really connected with what the movie had to say on it.

I’m not a big Inarittu fan. I’ve only seen The Revenant which I didn’t like that much. But this completely blew me away. It’s definitely an art movie and like an impressionistic painting or a piece of classical music, you don’t interact with them by discussing the “plot.” What is the plot of A Starry Night? It’s all about how it makes you feel on an individual level, and in that case Bardo is truly a work of art for me.

I didn’t expect to love it but it’s one of my favorite movies of the year.