In this special episode of Opening the Box, Filipe and Charlie explore The Brutalist, a haunting, Oscar-nominated film featuring music recorded in Ramsgate’s Arco Barco studio. They reflect on the work of free jazz legend Evan Parker and composer Daniel Blumberg, delving into the improvisational process and the space’s acoustics. The conversation unpacks themes of exploitation, migration, artistic vulnerability, and abstraction—tracing how brutalist architecture and experimental music intersect to amplify the film’s emotional depth and political commentary.

In this inaugural episode, Charlie and Filipe open the box with Duel (1971), Steven Spielberg’s breakout feature. They take a thoughtful, often humorous look at what makes this stripped-back thriller such a compelling and unnerving watch. The film, in which an ordinary man is relentlessly pursued by a faceless truck driver across the American desert, becomes the launchpad for a discussion about Spielberg’s career, the nature of suspense, the power of sound design, and the primal fears embedded in dreamlike narratives.

The hosts compare Duel to later Spielberg works like Jaws, seeing both as externalisations of internal anxieties—nameless, motiveless threats that mirror human vulnerability. They praise the film’s economical storytelling, minimalist soundscape, and clever use of confined space and tension. Filipe notes the film’s experimental use of internal monologue and single-shot sequences, while Charlie links Spielberg’s choices to deeper questions about masculinity, judgment, and personal trauma.

The episode also touches on the role of music—or the deliberate lack thereof—discussing how Duel foreshadows Spielberg’s later collaboration with John Williams. Throughout, there’s a recurring reflection on what makes a film linger in the subconscious and how early Spielberg was already showing signs of greatness.

They wrap up by teasing future episodes, including conversations about more recent films and even Filipe’s own work in The Brutalist, parts of which were recorded in their very studio.