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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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

This project was originally concieved to be a series of stand-alone short films. The only way Guy Maddin was able to recieve enough funding was to string some of them together into a feature.

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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

Not the best

In fairness, this sounds like quite a good idea on paper. A bunch of lost movies from the silent era have been put on film by using old reviews as building blocks. What's more, the idea of visually representing this material by way reproducing the look of old film stock and silent movie techniques seems like a pretty good one. But what it ultimately comes down to is that old adage that some ideas sound far better on paper than they are in practise. At the outset I was pretty much on board with this one and appreciating the visual ideas and general oddness of the content but after half an hour or so I was basically struggling. The visual style, while well done, is basically so relentless that it becomes increasingly difficult keeping your mind on any of the content. So much so that for the most part of this I was staring at it as you would wallpaper. Pretty wallpaper admittedly but staring at a wall for extended periods is hard going and ultimately a somewhat mind-numbing endeavour.

I don't think there is any point summarising the plot. I cannot see what good that could possibly achieve. But suffice to say that that the material is dealt with in a part surrealist, part absurdist manner. There is even a few interesting actors involved in this as well but they are pretty much lost is the mix also. As I said earlier there is an interesting visual aesthetic at play here and the concept has potential as an idea but, despite all this, I found this to be a thoroughly unengaging experience. It felt way too long clocking in at two hours as well and, in the final analysis, I more or less hated watching this interminable film.