Maddin Mania

What follows is a recap of the inaugural meeting of the Movie Viewing Club from August 12, 2008:

First film on the menu was "Sissy-Boy Slap Party" (1995, 4 min)



The set up is that the owner of a young men harem goes out to replenish the condom supply for his "stables." On the way out he admonishes his boys that there is to be no slapping. From there, this simple one-liner takes flight. The sound is amazing, a mounting cacophony of slaps, drums, yelps, and discordant violins running and falling, hand in hand, with some very funny cutting till exhaustion sets in and the 30's MGM music returns gently. If you don't laugh, you could be uptight.

This was the first piece of Guy Maddin's work I'd seen and I must say it sets a tone. The old-school non-sync Hollywood black and white with a frequent keyhole matte says that this is an auteur who loves the tradition he works in, which is decidedly film. Also seems, the man likes to make us laugh some.

We had another short before the feature, "The Heart of the World" (2000, 6 min)




This one was more of a trip. The cuts fall like lightning cracks and the piano accompaniment accentuates that effect. Strange story in this one, but there's a competition between two brothers for the love of a woman scientist trying to save the heart of the world ... this competition for love theme will come back in the feature. This is a complete thematic film told in 6 tremendous minutes. Really amazing visuals, Metropolis looking costumes and sets, fantastical black and white lighting, and again the cutting! Guy Maddin says that he and his editor were working on a neurological concept of memory and story-telling. You can see him say a bit more on the subject here:





After our journey to Guy Maddin 2000, the Movie Viewing Club traveled back ten years and the edits settled down some.

"Archangel" (1990, 90 min)





The themes here are love and war. A Canadian soldier in WWI finds himself fighting alongside the Russians near the arctic city of Arkhangel'sk. He has recently lost his love Iris. He is taken in by a local family where he meets a woman who he believes to be his lost love, only she's been married to a man who's forgotten he no longer loves her. Strangeness abounds in this tale of love during the brutality of trench warfare in the cold North country.

Here's another bit:




I admit to having lost some interest by the end. Still, a very effective picture and a rad filmmaker.

In short, upon first exposure to the variable of Guy Maddin, I was reminded of where film came from and my imagination was happy.