Tales from the Gimli Hospital (1989)

Director:

Guy Maddin

Writer:

Guy Maddin (written by)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror

Tagline:

It all happened in a Gimli we no longer know.

Plot:

While their mother is dying in the modern Gimli, Manitoba hospital, two young children are told an important...

Plot Keywords:

Hospital | Icelandic | Turn Of The Century | Village | Iceland

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Kyle McCulloch	...	Einar the Lonely / Minstrel
Michael Gottli	...	Gunnar
Angela Heck	...	Snjófridur
Margaret Anne MacLeod	...	Amma
Heather Neale	...	Granddaughter
David Neale	...	Grandson
Don Hewak	...	John Ramsay
Ron Eyolfson	...	Pastor Osbaldison / Patient (as Ronald Eyolfson)
Chris Johnson	...	Lord Dufferin
Donna Szöke	...	Fish Princess
Tiffany Taylor	...	Gunnar's Strolling Companion / Gimli Maiden
Linda Schinkel	...	Dying Mother
Jeff Solylo	...	Angry Husband
Randy Kray	...	Angel
George Toles	...	Angel With Mustache
Carmen Snidal	...	Sigvalda Sigurdsdottír
Brent Neale	...	Valdimar / Gimli Manfolk
Greg Klymkiw	...	Gravedigger I
Ian Handford	...	Gravedigger II / Highlander
Caroline Bonner	...	Elfa Egilsdóttir / Nurse / Gimli Maiden
Michelle Hannesson	...	Nurse
Roberta Hannesson	...	Nurse
Martina Petriuk	...	Nurse
Jey Thibedeau	...	Nurse
Jennine Profeta	...	Nurse / Gimli Maiden
Bonnie Brown	...	Nurse
David Lewis	...	Gimli Manfolk / Patient
Allen Schinkel	...	Gimli Manfolk
Howard Curle	...	Gimli Manfolk
M.B. Duggan	...	Gimli Manfolk
John Bekavac	...	Gimli Manfolk
Stephen Snyder	...	Gimli Manfolk / Bleeding Patient / Highlander (as Snydér)
Alan Baker	...	Gimli Manfolk
Dmitri	...	Gimli Manfolk
Michael Duggan	...	Gimli Manfolk (as Baby Michael Duggan)
Yvette Nolan	...	Gimli Maiden
Kirsten McFeetors	...	Gimli Maiden
Laurie Richardson	...	Gimli Maiden / Dancer
Janice McRae	...	Gimli Maiden
Gord Arthur	...	Patient
David Barber	...	Patient
Laurence Eyolfson	...	Patient
Herdis Maddin	...	Patient
Gary LeDrew	...	Patient
Jay Ashmore	...	Patient
Lil Eyolfson	...	Patient
Lillian May Eyolfson	...	Patient
Jilian Maddin	...	Child / Dancer
Maggie Atkinson	...	Child
Tara Lambert	...	Child
Rachel Toles	...	Child
Kate Atkinson	...	Child
Jennifer Olenick	...	Child
Beth Anne McIvor	...	Child
Megan LaTouche	...	Dancer
Lara Pavlov	...	Dancer
Rita Bozi	...	Dancer
Andrée Thompson	...	Dancer
Nicola Longmuir	...	Swimmer
Kathryn Slight	...	Swimmer
Shari Ceaser	...	Swimmer
Cindy Malcovitch	...	Swimmer
Hugh MacKenzie	...	Highlander
Barry Pihulak	...	Highlander
George MacDonald	...	Highlander
Craig Kirby	...	Highlander
Gordon Thorne	...	Highlander
Alex Beattie	...	Highlander
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Guy Maddin	...	Doctor (uncredited)

Directed by
Guy Maddin

Writing credits
Guy Maddin		(written by)

Produced by
Greg Klymkiw	....	producer
Stephen Snyder	....	producer (as Snydér)

Cinematography by
Guy Maddin

Film Editing by
Guy Maddin

Art Direction by
Jeff Solylo

Costume Design by
Donna Szöke		(gowns)

Makeup Department
Donna Szöke	....	makeup artist

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Kyle McCulloch	....	assistant director

Art Department
Rick Atkinson	....	model maker: farm house

Sound Department
Laurence Mardon	....	sound
Clive Perry	....	sound mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Lorne Bailey	....	additional camera operator
Alan Baker	....	key grip
Holly Gregory	....	additional camera operator
Carol Pickering	....	additional camera operator

Editorial Department
Dawna Noga	....	negative cutter (as Dawna)

Other crew
Michael Powell	....	builder: angels
George Toles	....	story consultant

Production Companies

• Extra Large Productions

Distributors

• Cinephile (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Circle Films (1989) (USA) (theatrical)
• Kino Video (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• E.D. Distribution (2004) (France) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Triad Graphics Ltd.  typesetting

Also Known As:

Runtime:

72 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

Icelandic | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:14

Filming Locations:

Gimli, Manitoba, Canada

Company:

Extra Large Productions

Trivia:

In the scene where Gunnar meets Einar on the beach where Einar is chopping fish, the background music used is the theme from Richard Fleischer's The Vikings (1958).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Tragedie of Admiral Cigarette (2006)

Unexpected pleasure

The comments made above by "Spearin" express my own reaction to this film.

I rented it on DVD because it sounded intriguing, but fully expected to yank the disc before it fairly got underway. To my pleased surprise, I was caught up in the story and captivated by the photography from the first seconds, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience--so much so, in fact, that I immediately replayed the movie with the director's often droll narration superimposed.

Also on the DVD I rented was a short film by the same author, "The Dead Father," which is well worth watching. It, perhaps even more than "Tales from the Gimli Hospital," evokes early French surrealist film, but not in a slavish way.

Both films gave me food for thought--about film and about human relationships. I guess this "nourishment" aspect of film-viewing is my basic criterion for judgment. On that basis, I voted an "eight" for "Tales from the Gimli Hospital."

By the way, I was very interested to learn (from the director's commentary) some of the actual history of Gimli and its settlers. These were tough, courageous people.