The Heart of the World (2000)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Guy Maddin

Writer:

Guy Maddin (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot Keywords:

Actor | Heart Failure | Experimental Film | Deterioration | Female Scientist

Awards:

6 wins

Cast

Leslie Bais	...	Anna
Caelum Vatnsdal	...	Osip
Shaun Balbar	...	Nikolai
Greg Klymkiw	...	Akmatov (as Hryhory Yulyanovitch Klymkyiev)

Runtime:

6 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

None

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

Trivia:

References/parodies soviet montage cinema of the 1920s, German Expressionism of the 1920s, and silent melodrama film.

Movie Connections:

References La fin du monde (1931)

Soundtrack:

Time, Forward

Kino-therapy..

Equal parts German Expressionism and Russian Agit-prop, Heart of the World is a six minute epic of Biblical proportions.

Maddin's usual idiosyncrasies resurface - Scandinavian Love triangle Melodrama amidst impending social catastrophe.

Being from the Tarkovskian school of thought, an ASL (average shot length) of under 2 seconds would normally be scoffed at, but an exception will have to be made in this case, as the rapid-cutting is truly elevated to an art form here.

The music is appropriately over-the-top and compliments the film perfectly.

One of the wittiest, most inventive short films ever.