As a Canadian and someone who watches a lot of films, Guy Maddin has been on my radar for some time now, but I did not get around to any of his work until last night. That film was "My Winnipeg", and I was absolutely enthralled by it. Maddin himself describes the film as a "docu-fantasia" and it's an apt description; using home videos, staged reenactments, new and old footage, the film seamlessly blends facts and fantasy, memories and complete re-imaginings. It's about cold, snowy Winnipeg - the center of North America, the heart of the continent - but it's capable of resonating with anyone, because we all come from somewhere. Some of us have long since left, some of us want to but just can't seem to, and some never want to leave, couldn't dream of it.
It's at once a powerful rumination on death - of people, of childhood, of an era - and a celebration of life. A comic yet melancholic, heartfelt meditation on where we come from, and how time and imagination can distort our perception of it. It's about how we mythologize our hometowns, our upbringing, how some memories seem lost forever but can reemerge years later and we can't be quite sure if that's really how they were.
I don't know what it all means but it evoked such a visceral reaction from me. Maybe it's because of where I'm at - recently turned 30, the recent death of my father, living so far away from my hometown, the current state of the world, missing youth - but the film just made me deeply contemplative on life (while also keeping me very entertained - Maddin's hard-boiled, noir-esque narration fits perfectly, and a nice touch was the casting of 1940s film noir icon Ann Savage as his Mother in what would be her final film role).
Roger Ebert (who placed "My Winnipeg' in his top 10 films of the decade) described Maddin's films like "silent movies dreaming they could speak" and wrote "If you love movies in the very sinews of your imagination, you should experience the work of Guy Maddin". I have to agree with him there.
"My Winnipeg" is a poetic celebration of film, creativity, where we come from, and where we want to go.
It's at once a powerful rumination on death - of people, of childhood, of an era - and a celebration of life. A comic yet melancholic, heartfelt meditation on where we come from, and how time and imagination can distort our perception of it. It's about how we mythologize our hometowns, our upbringing, how some memories seem lost forever but can reemerge years later and we can't be quite sure if that's really how they were.
I don't know what it all means but it evoked such a visceral reaction from me. Maybe it's because of where I'm at - recently turned 30, the recent death of my father, living so far away from my hometown, the current state of the world, missing youth - but the film just made me deeply contemplative on life (while also keeping me very entertained - Maddin's hard-boiled, noir-esque narration fits perfectly, and a nice touch was the casting of 1940s film noir icon Ann Savage as his Mother in what would be her final film role).
Roger Ebert (who placed "My Winnipeg' in his top 10 films of the decade) described Maddin's films like "silent movies dreaming they could speak" and wrote "If you love movies in the very sinews of your imagination, you should experience the work of Guy Maddin". I have to agree with him there.
"My Winnipeg" is a poetic celebration of film, creativity, where we come from, and where we want to go.