kypade tell me if this is worth watching

It's the most incredible thing I've experienced in a long, long time. It's unlike just about any film I've ever seen and is so crazy that I'm hesitant to say "Yes, you should watch it." On the other hand, I wouldnt mind if everyone on earth had to watch it. So I'm gonna go with yes, it's worth watching.

So, you liked it, then?

I don't trust this Maddin guy. I've never seen one of his films, but I get disturbing hipster vibes from everything he touches.

Geez, I'm starting to sound like Armond White in my old age.

And you liked Juno.

You disgust me.

Yknow, I had the same sorta thoughts on him. I only knew him by reputation, (and I'd seen his 6 minute short on youtube), and I wasnt very eager to learn more. But then, this year he made My Winnipeg, and everyone loved it and I heard or saw a clip or something, and I really, really wanted to see it. Coupled with Criterion putting out this film, I figured I'd give it a shot. But still when I finally got it at home, I just let it sit and sit. I got it October 16th, and only today watched it. I just had uneasy feelings about the whole thing.

But it's really something special.

It honestly wouldn't surprise me if you didn't like it, though, yoshue. If makeshift didn't like it, I'd be surprised. But if you came in and were mixed, or worse, I wouldn't think twice.

But you should definitely watch it.

Aww, dear, sweet, compassionate Juno. What a treat. Loved that movie. So, in conclusion, suck it, hater internet hipster douche.

I loved when all the internet hipsters turned on the movie about the faux-hipster. What cord it struck, I wondered?

Fair enough. I'll add it to the queue.

I think you're the first person to ever accuse me of being a hipster.

I accuse all people who watch an excess of David Cronenberg and/or Brian DePalma hipsters, regardless of whether or not its accurate. I think it's fun.

Thus, I would throw the same accusation at makeshift.

Hm...trixster...hipster.

There might be something to this.

Ugh. I fold.

I just can't compete!

Alright. Now that we've gotten that out of the way, how about you both start watching this movie. : )

As soon as the DVD gets to the library. It's currently "on order".

Here's my original review from the June '07 thread in Foreign & Independent...

I think the best thing I could say about Guy Maddin's movies are they are seriously among the most purely alive movies I've ever seen. The schizophrenic jump-cutting, the lurid melodrama, the equally hilarious and of-putting black comedy...

I dunno, I think the fact that his films feel like a piece of his brain was ripped out of his skull and thrown across celluloid creates this deeply uncomfortable, but extremely provocative and entrancing experience.

My Winnipeg is the most complete (and probably most accessible) Maddin film I've seen, but Brand Upon the Brain! is equally brilliant.

I'll take this as a compliment, considering you just named-dropped two of the all time great filmmakers.

Huzzah!

It's not as coherent or enjoyable as My Winnipeg, but it's perhaps even more interesting. Whereas that film was clearly an essayistic look at Maddin's hometown (albeit filtered through his fractured psyche), this is, somehow, even stranger and idiosyncratic-er.

My friend and I were talking about it after we watched it, and while we both enjoyed it - a lot - we find there's not a lot of universality or generality that can be applied to Maddin's work. They're very much his films - representations of his beautifully disturbed mind - and so they don't have a lot of outside meaning. In a way, they're just him attempting to work out his various childhood anxieties - sexual frustration, Oedipal guilt, incestuous inclinations - through these wonderfully bizarre avant-garde silent films. Though some might find his distinctive style indulgent or annoying, I truly love it.

Also, we were able to attend a speech given by one of my profs (who's just finished writing a book on Maddin) on this film, and that cleared up a lot of the lingering ambiguities as far as thematic meaning and symbolism. That's not to say I've "figured it out", but I certainly get what Maddin's trying to do.

It's not an easy film to like, or even watch, but I really dug it. I dunno. Maybe I am a hipster.

Not to take away from your hipster cred, but have you seen The Saddest Music In The World? It's perhaps Maddin's most "linear" and accessible film and stars the incomparable Isabella Rossellini.

Damned if I can find my original review for it, but it was my first Maddin film and it blew me away to the point that I'm now hooked me for life...




(I've still gotta go back and see his early stuff, but I hate watching this level of brilliance on a TV screen. It's time for an All-Maddin film festival!)

I have not seen it. It's definitely on my to-watch list.

I was lucky enough to catch this at a special showing at my arthouse (it was actually presented in conjunction with my prof's speech). It certainly made the viewing more enjoyable, even though the theatre was fairly empty.

The Crispin Glover narration fit like a glove! After a botched effort in which I switched between the Rossellini/Maddin narration tracks and ended up turning it off and going to bed, I went back to this movie the other day and loved every minute of it. Maddin is so demented, his films can be hilarious at times. I keep saying he's like a modern Bunuel. I prefer The Saddest Music in the World and Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary to Brand but the film has its own genius. Guy Maddin is one of the very best directors working today and I feel confident saying that after only watching four of his movies. Next up for me is Careful.

I encourage anyone interested in Guy Maddin to be sure to watch My Winnipeg, and of course, The Saddest Music in the World, and to start to get excited about his first new feature film in four years, in production now, with Jason Patric and Isabella Rosellini, due out next year... Keyhole !