The Dead Father

A surreal meditation on death, this short film contains some ideas and images worthy of the original Surrealists, with touches of humor. Though in some ways the movie feels like the first-time attempt that it is, the story is both more coherent and more profound than some of Maddin's feature-length efforts. The black-and-white cinematography and old-style dubbing set a strong mood, and the director makes good use of locations, props, and costumes to create a dreamlike but palpable suburban world from a few decades ago. A small note: 1930's movie buffs may be annoyingly distracted by the clips of familiar soundtracks in the background. You can find this short on the DVD of "Tales from the Gimli Hospital".