my winnipeg

[samsong]

trailer

maddin's latest act of freudian catharsis and cinematic delirium is as hilarious, exhaustive, and mysteriously moving as anything i've seen by him.  interesting to see his style in "documentary" form.  easily my favorite film of the year so far.

[cine]

saw this back in sept '07 at the TO film festival. loved it then and i'm seeing it again tomorrow.

[w/o horse]

  It's basically three parts exploration:  Maddin's early life, Maddin's hometown (esp. memories connected to), and fantasy enriched documentation.  It's great because Maddin is such a gifted verbalist and is able to project his personality onto the narrative (like Herzog).  He creates a romantic, idealized portrait of Winnipeg that feels exactly like the intensified memories of my childhood, so it's not so much a literal documentary about a place as it's a stylized and expressionistic impression of a place.  The whole point (a point) is that he's leaving a place that's already changed enough it's no longer the place he once loved, and Maddin's movie is about him missing that place and finding out what was special about it for him.  This all sounds very personal, and it is, and my problem with the movie is that it has, implicit in its structure, a lack of focus.  When Maddin takes a moment to leave behind his personal story for Winnipeg's story, or vice versa, though the two are irrevocacbly linked here, he still shifts into another perspective and breaks his momentum.  I think it's beautiful and enjoyable but doesn't build into anything.

[samsong]

while the film's seemingly haphazard structure and infinite tangents--all aspects of an intended style--might be signs of a lack of focus in the conventional sense and weigh on the pacing/forward progression, i hardly consider that something to hold against the film.  it may not be entirely successful and in the end might not be as clearly stated as one likes or expects, but the ride is so fucking good.  in some ways, my winnipeg takes after sans soleil (both offer insights into memory and the function of filmmaking, and abrasively challenging) in a more whimsical, facetious fashion, limited to guy maddin's cesspool of memories and demons, which i've always considered to be a hilarious and cathartic place.  maddin's films are also personal on a level that i rarely ever see, and even more rarely ever see work the way his films do.  for myself, i don't think i know exactly what the film builds into, but it's no trifle.