July 17, 2026

Triptych Ep 2:4 | Les Voyageurs, Godzilla Minus One, Please God Find Me A Husband

The Masterpieces

1. Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Godzilla Minus One is the latest in Japan’s long-running Godzilla franchise. But dispel all thought of dumb Hollywood monster-pics that revel in cheap thrills and facile redemptive arcs. This film, directed and co-written by Takashi Yamazaki, is surprisingly arresting. It is characterised by scores of unforgettable images, genuine seriousness in grappling with the legacy of historic horror, and, above all, a rich, affecting narrative.

The protagonist, Kōichi Shikishima, is a survivor of the Second World War despite serving in one of Japan’s notorious Kamikaze squadrons. Consequently, the cloud of suspicion dogs him wherever he goes: did he shirk his duty? But that is nothing to the profound well of shame that plagues his thoughts and dreams. For not only did he fail as a kamikaze, he failed as the only one in a position to save his comrades from their brand new threat: a radioactive beast from the sea.

The film provides a rich vein for discussion and thought.

2. Simone Lia's "Please God, Find Me A Husband!" (2012)

This is our first graphic novel on Triptych, for no reason other than that we’ve not done one before. As good a time as any to start with Please God, Find Me A Husband!.

Simone Lia‘s breakout book is an unputdownable, hilarious, supremely relatable memoir of heartache, faith and humanity. A painful breakup prompts a major reevaluation of life and purpose. Her season of reflection takes her in unexpected directions, via Catholic convents in Britain and Australia, while navigating romance and idealisation.

She is a professional illustrator and artist, born to Maltese parents and growing up in Suffolk, so cartooning is her natural story-telling language.

3. Bruno Catalano's Les Voyageurs (2013-)

Bruno Catalano seems a restless soul, a man with roots and connections with many places, but has empathy with those in exile or without any roots at all. Born in Morocco to Franco-Italian parents in 1960, he moved with his family to Marseilles in southern France at the age of 10. The city is still his base of operations as a sculptor, but he only discovered an artistic bent later in life. For many years, he worked in the maritime world, including time in France’s SNSM (equivalent to the UK’s RNLI).

These experiences clearly inform his work today, because he has become particularly well known for his many pieces that explore themes of global migration and refuge.

Les Voyageurs is one such sequence, arresting depictions of migrants arriving on docksides carrying perhaps just a holdall or few plastic bags. But each figure is in some way fragmented or missing a significant section. They attract attention initially through apparent physical impossibility; but subsequent concentration arrests the view with a stark challenge to self-examination. How do we see these people? And what burdens or agonies do they bear?