Join this week’s guest Lirpa Strike author of Just Saying and I on the twelfth episode of In Kino Veritās— a podcast where the guest picks a film, we both watch, and discuss.
We don’t simply review films but dive deep into their themes, characters and cultural context. In this episode we discuss the recently released 2025 Paul Thomas Anderson film One Battle After Another. A sweeping film that simultaneously celebrates & makes fun of left wing terror groups. Themes such as race, class, family, and political violence coalesce to make an incredibly gripping watch.
Enjoy!
Where you can stream One Battle After Another
(Use your local library to get a physical copy for free)
Main Points
* Guest Intro – I bring on Lirpa Strike, one of my favorite cultural critics writing on Substack, to talk politics, art, and revolutionary mythology. She’s got roots in yoga, personal training, photography, and millennial activism: most notably, she’s got deep insider perspective on Occupy Wall Street.
* Why This Film – Lirpa picks One Battle After Another for our discussion — a post-revolutionary tragedy from the left flank that plays like a spiritual sister to Eddington. The story follows French75, a militant cell caught in the collapse of the American empire.
* 3 Hours, No Drag – We both agree: this movie flies. Despite its length, it’s gripping from start to finish. The car chase is iconic. The soundtrack hits.
* The Leading Men – DiCaprio is phenomenal as Bob. But Sean Penn’s Lockjaw walks away with the whole film. Easily the best supporting performance I’ve seen in a while.
* A Post-Vibe Shift Film – A far cry from 2021 virtue signalling. One Battle After Another ditches the smirking, HR-speak moralizing of woke-era cinema. It’s left-coded, yes but it’s stylish, self-aware, and doesn’t insult the viewer’s intelligence.
* Bob is Not a Joke – One of the most surprising parts is how seriously the film treats its revolutionary lead. Bob’s not a bumbling joke a la “leading” White men in film the past few years. He’s competent, flawed, dangerous A few years ago this role would’ve been played for laughs. Not here.
* Perfidia Betrayal – We dig into Perfidia’s arc — her affair with Lock Jaw, her ultimate betrayal of the group, and what it says about revolutionary virtue under pressure. Lirpa calls it a survival move wrapped in nymphomania. I call it the moment where collectivist utopia collapses under real-world self-interest.
* The Left’s Creation Myth – Willa, born of a fascist thug and a black revolutionary traitor, becomes a self-made demiurge. The film plays into leftist blank-slate mythology.
* The Nonbinary Rat – The betrayal by Willa’s nonbinary friend is something you wouldn’t see even two years ago. I think Paul Thomas Anderson is trolling his own side just enough to maintain plausible deniability. Lirpa appreciates that the film lets the character be a person, not just a mascot.
* Occupy and the Slow Death of Idealism – Lirpa opens up about her time in Occupy: the honeymoon phase, the NGO capture, the media committee infighting, the burnout, the paranoia. The film is quite reminiscent.
* The Progressive Stack & Ideological Implosion – We talk about the real moment when anarchist energy got fragmented by identity politics. The progressive stack enters the general assembly.
* Who Killed Cool Leftism? – We agree the left lost its edge. It became establishment, it became smug, it became an HR department. The left of One Battle After Another is dangerous, sexy, and sad. The left of MSNBC is dead inside.
* Luxury Beliefs vs Working Class Reality – Lirpa goes in on “abolish the police” rhetoric, calling it a luxury belief. She tells a personal story about being robbed and left to the wolves while rich urbanites post slogans from doorman buildings.
* Class > Identity – The film sidesteps race-as-moral-binary nonsense. Sean Penn’s villainy comes from his class and role, not so much his skin color per se. It feels rare and desperately welcome.
* Racial Banter and Edgy Comebacks – People in the film talk about race the way real friends do—through teasing, bluntness, and affection. And yes, someone says “retard.” (We’re so back)
* Watch This, Even if You Hate the Premise – We close by encouraging everyone—especially right-coded listeners—to give this one a chance.
