Monday, June 30, 2008

Movies: My Winnipeg

This, my first ever Guy Maddin film, is a kind of film school noir meets family/hometown paean meets mid-century propagandistic chamber of commerce advertisement. It's also beautifully filmed and hysterically funny, so long as one isn't attached to any of the following: linear plot, developed characters, straight-forward narrative, or the truth. If one is fascinated by repetition, linguistic play, the fictionalization of fact, and the passing of time, one will be, like me, fascinated by this strange and wonderful film, which celebrates and criticizes equally Maddin's hometown of, yes, Winnipeg (which, based solely on Maddin and fellow countryman Marcel Dzama's incredibly strange talents, must be rather an amazing, inspiring place).

No comments: