The Forbidden Room (2015)

In this non-linear amalgamation, submarine crewmen and a woodsman wend their way through a voyage of odd experiences.

Directors:

Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson (co-director)

Writers:

Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson

Stars:

Roy Dupuis, Clara Furey, Louis Negin

4 wins & 11 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Roy Dupuis	...	Cesare
Clara Furey	...	Margot
Louis Negin	...	Marv / Smithy / Mars / Organizer / Mr. Lanyon
Udo Kier	...	Count Yugh / The Butler / The Dead Father / Guard / Pharmacist
Gregory Hlady	...	Jarvis / Dr. Deane / A Husband
Mathieu Amalric	...	Thadeusz M___ / Ostler
Noel Burton	...	Wolf / Pilot / The Captain
Geraldine Chaplin	...	The Master Passion / Nursemaid / Aunt Chance
Paul Ahmarani	...	Dr. Deng / Speedy
Caroline Dhavernas	...	Gong
Jacques Nolot	...	Bent / Minister of the Interior
Slimane Dazi	...	Baron Pappenheim
Maria de Medeiros	...	The Blind Mother / Clotilde
Charlotte Rampling	...	The Ostler's Mother
Victor Andres Turgeon-Trelles	...	Saplingjack 1 / Listening Man / Pancho (as Victor Andrés Trelles Turgeon)

Storyline

A never-before-seen woodsman mysteriously appears aboard a submarine that's been trapped deep under water for months with an unstable cargo. As the terrified crew make their way through the corridors of the doomed vessel, they find themselves on a voyage into the origins of their darkest fears.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | woodsman | lack of oxygen | captain | room | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site

Country:

Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 2015 (UK)

Also Known As:

Seances

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$696, 19 February 2016, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$34,043, 6 March 2016

Company Credits

Production Co:

Phi,Buffalo Gal Pictures,Kidam

Technical Specs

Runtime:

130 min

Color:

Color Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Each sequence of The Forbidden Room is based on reviews and summaries of "lost" films, mostly from America in the early to mid-20th century. These films were destroyed intentionally or by natural degredation of the original film stock, and will likely never be seen again. Guy Maddin realized the only way he'd be able to see these lost movies was to make them himself.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Marv: Hello. I'm Marv. Today, we're gonna discuss baths - more specifically, how to take one. Baths have been around for a long time. The ancient Romans built fancy ones, like Caracalla. In the Middle Ages, the were called "stews"... 'cause you had to be stewed in order to take one. They were open to both sexes. Today, the Japanese have bisexual bathing
[winks]
Marv: . Here in America, we didn't bathe so much until recently. The Saturday-night bath used to be a ritual. Today, it's more like ...

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Connections

Featured in The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin (2015)

User Reviews

Five intertwined stories without a common theme failed to provide for interesting contents

Saw this at the IMAGINE film festival 2015 in Amsterdam. Walked out after one hour, nearly half of the 130 minutes running time. I did not understand a thing about what it was all about from the outset, but I allowed it some slack due to the overly positive introductory talk by the festival's artistic director. He told us about the abundance of references to films from the silent period (I don't think I care). The format is blatantly weird in taking trouble to look like a film from the silent period, with seemingly missing pieces and imperfect material, though we know that this film is recently made, as such leading to the conclusion that these imperfections are added as a gimmick and defeating any useful purpose. It may resonate with film professionals, however, but what do I know.

There is no edible story (actually five stories I've heard or read somewhere, craft-fully intertwined). I could not derive anything in common that could have served as a binding theme. It may be so that the binding element(s) were to be revealed later on, but I did not wait until the final revelation, and left. Anyway, other festival visitors who sat it out until the very end, did not make much of it either, as it scored a lowly 36th (out of 45) place for the audience award with average score 6.78 (out of 10).