The heart of the world and other organs: The singular cinema of Guy Maddin

To me, his style evokes F.W. Murnau and Fritz Lang. "The Heart of the World" seemed like the crazy lovechild of "Metropolis" and "Sunshine".

Thanks so much for posting this collection of Maddin online material. He was in Toronto just this past week, doing a series of highly entertaining lectures at the University of Toronto. And thanks (even moreso) for including links to Maddin's two books, My Winnipeg and From the Atelier Tovar, published buy us at Coach House. Great additions to any Maddin library!

Many people appreciate and applaud Maddin's "style" and speak highly of his evocation of silent cinema but I am compelled to say his works are consistently bereft of meaning or content for that matter. they are shadow shows of style alone - and his take on what old cinema was is less than a cliché, it's a frickin' cartoon. Perhaps I'm just a dense lout but the praise heaped upon Madden for his dull, faux-old-cinema stylings is not deserved. Scratch the surface of these shallow films and all you get is rotting nitrate. But I hear he's a nice guy.

I had the pleasure of seeing The Saddest Music... at one of the Sundance showings in SLC. I thought it was almost mind blowing- and very funny. Even if the film was difficult for a first viewing (you don't know where it is going to go)- you just remember certain scenes. "No more dignity." And the sound of the high school basketball style horn blaring before the rounds of the contest and before the people go down the beer slide. Just great.

So true! He finds something in our subconscious...

For my money, the cinema of Guy Maddin is the eighth wonder of the world.

An essay I wrote on "My Winnipeg": http://moviesaremyreligion.blogspot.com/2010/01/my-findings-in-my-winnipeg.html

And I'll add that I think "Sissy Boy Slap Party" is that rare example of the must-see short film, an hallucinatory mini-masterpiece that can stand all on its own. Somebody somewhere someday should play it back to back with the opening act of "Full Metal Jacket"...

Ebert: Maddin is a taste, once acquired, that expands our ideas of film. I find him fascinating. I just tweeted your blog.

Roger, I don't mean to take up your time (I see you're busy trying to persuade half a nation not to join a lethal tea party... good advice!) but I am moved to shower you with thanks. Your Tweet made my day and my friends' days (some of whom follow your blog)!

I had awaken from a (because I've been reading him for school, Fred-induced) nightmare and was looking for something reassuring to help me back to sleep. Eventually I was browsing your Twitter and thought "Wonderful! Another Guy Maddin fan! This should be fun and help me back to sweet dreams..." And when my blog is what opened I thought something had gone wrong but then tried again and then... I now know how an out of body experience feels.

Thank you deeply for being so generous and down to earth as to take the time to read over your readers' blogs!

I admit being embarrassed to be broadcasted because I'm not your usual featured should-be-paid-pros (Grace Wang, Michael Mirosol) but that essay is my favorite thing I've written, maybe because sheer mad love drove the writing, so all credit goes to the charm of Maddin movies and if my blog helps ring in new fans... fantastic!

Myself, maybe because I grew up in a small, snowy town, I acquired the taste for Maddin about five minutes into "Saddest Music in the World"... And, with all due respect to Eisenstein, Maddin's use of editing has to be the cleverest, most original and entertainingly audacious... and dare I say spiritual... that I've seen.

It's strange considering how much of his personal life he reveals in his films that, even on repeat viewings, they remain mysterious... haunted, leading to an overwhelming question. But do not ask "what is it?"! Come enjoy Maddin's curious re-visits...

Ebert: Karl, the only reasons I tweet a blog is because I love it. You should be paid, too.

Guy Maddin came twice to Ebertfest and was wonderfully nice and as funny as a stand-up comic.

Hi Roger,

As a long time follower of your reviews and website, I just had to chime in on Guy Maddin. I grew up in, have a fondness for, and still live close to Winnipeg. It was actually my curiosity about what Mr. Madden had to say about Winnipeg that made me stop on the Independent Film Channel and watch the movie.

In one of your blogs, you had stated that you had little interest in how factual the movie was. I will not spoil this for you, and only suggest that one's knowledge of the facts will not diminish one's appreciation of the film.

My first Maddin film was "Tales from the Gimli Hospital", seen when I was a University undergraduate. Really, the film left me cold, and I saw little reason to view subsequent films.

However, I one day found myself watching "Twilight of the Ice Nymphs", hoping that age and perspective would have allowed me to appeciate a type of film making that I did not before. Again, the film made little impact on me, and I found myself able to walk away from it only part way through. And based on this experience, I had little interest in looking up "Saddest Music In the World" in later years, despite the favorable reviews.

At that point in my life, I would have described Mr. Maddin as a creative, original film maker, who is not afraid to do something different (like smearing the lens of the camera with petroleum jelly for an entire move). However, these movies seemed very inaccessible to me, and I would have had a hard time recommending them.

But "My Winnipeg"! What a great movie! The use of interesting camera angles. Adding great "retro" touches to the film both during and post production. The flashing of word cards like in a 1930's Soviet propaganda movie ("Wieners!")! The blackly humorous historical facts which appear absurd yet somehow retain a patina of believability.

All in all, I thank you for continuing to sing the praises of Guy Maddin's "My Winnipeg". And to your point, yes, just about every element in "My Winnipeg" reminds me of something I've seen somewhere else before too.

Best Wishes.

I've seen "Tears from the Gimli Hospital," the wonderfully weird "Careful," and "Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary," but "The Heart of the World" sticks in the mind like no other. This is the first time I've seen it since 2000, and I could remember, clear as day, the dramatic musical phrase that we hear when Anna first comes on. It's an insane, insane movie. I look forward to "Saddest Music" and "My Winnepig."