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Reviews
Fancy, Fancy Being Rich (2002)
Fun, hypnotic film
Fancy, Fancy Being Rich is a great addition to Maddin's filmography. It's everything you'd expect from Guy Maddin and more.
While you couldn't really call Maddin's previous short films music videos (though Maddin has directed a few of those as well), this short film comes closest, but it's not accurate to call it that either.
I've read one description of the film that comes close to what I think the film is about, that being about a lonely housemaid who can never find lasting love.
I'd say that's true since in the film, all the men she attracts leaves her, going back into the ocean from whence they came.
All along, she's singing the title song "Fancy, Fancy Being Rich". The song itself is from the opera Powder Her Face composed by Thomas Adès, with libretto by Philip Hensher. The play itself was commissioned by the Almeida Opera and first performed in 1995. Why do I bring this up? Well, there's a creative connection.
Does Powder Her Face influence Fancy, Fancy Being Rich? Definitely. Both include women with voracious sexual appetites. The motto of the Duchess in the play: "Go to bed early and often" could very well be the motto of the film. And in the film, when the men keep abandoning the heroine, well, you can imagine the frustration she feels.
And that's the beauty of Maddin's films. Seeing how his influences merge with his own genius visions, and ending up with something unique and nowhere close to what someone else could do.
Excellent! 9/10
Columbo: Columbo Likes the Nightlife (2003)
Excellent modernization of Columbo
My girlfriend and I watched the premiere of Columbo: Columbo Likes the Nightlife tonight, and we both loved it! She got me hooked on Columbo when I first met her a couple of years ago and now we both try to catch it on TV whenever it's on... which brings me to the newest Columbo movie.
I read that ABC tried to add youth appeal to the ongoing Columbo movies. Since I'm not a teenager or twenty-something anymore, I don't know if it was successful with those demographic groups, but for myself, it was a worthy addition to the Columbo films and kept me glued to the screen.
Kudos to director Jeffrey Reiner and writer Michael Alaimo for creating a believable and gripping story with three-dimensional characters that Columbo could play along with. If you thought recent Columbo movies were still stuck in the 70s and 80s in their style, check this one out! I'm sure it was the director's previous work as an editor that helped create the never-dull-and-always-something-worthwhile-to-watch pacing. The rave scene was a good idea for the background for this story. It contrasts nicely with Columbo's polite and conservative character traits.
And it was fun to see Steve Schirripa (who plays Bobby on the Sopranos) in a small role. I would have liked to see more of him, but that's a minor quibble.
Keep up the excellent work! I would definitely want to see the same director and writer creating future Columbo movies. As for Peter Falk, he's irreplaceable! It's great seeing him in anything.
Catch this movie on DVD if it ever comes out in this format (fingers crossed) or on TV. 9/10
Hospital Fragment (2000)
Captivating film
With Hospital Fragment, Guy Maddin brought back some of the actors from his longer work Tales From The Gimli Hospital.
This film does seem to have been shot at the same time as Tales From The Gimli Hospital was (a full 11 years earlier), and that's part of the charm. It's like having an extra bonus after watching the longer film. We're treated to a sequel/remake/3 minute condensation? of a longer film with three of the main actors, with the same director, similar ambience, rhythmic editing, surreal storyline, etc.
This film is a bonbon in the oeuvre of Guy Maddin, and makes for a fun epilogue to Tales From The Gimli Hospital. After this film, one of Guy's highest achievements was to come next: The Heart Of The World.
Odilon Redon or The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts Toward Infinity (1995)
Poetic, abstract and surreal
After the successful art-house release of Guy Maddin's feature film Careful in 1992, and the made-for-tv half-hour The Hands of Ida, Guy was commissioned by the BBC in 1994 (along with a select few filmmakers around the world) to choose a favourite work of art and make a short film about it.
Guy chose "The Eye Like A Strange Balloon Mounts Towards Infinity (After Edgar A Poe, 1882)" by Odilon Redon, the great French symbolist painter. Eye Like A Strange Balloon taken from a period of Redon's life where he used charcoal almost exclusively up until the 1890's (when Redon started using pastels and colours in his work), contributes much of the inspirational source for this brilliant short film.
This film does remind one of a dark charcoal painting come to life. The film was shot in black and white on a 16mm Bolex, edited on a Steenbeck, with minimalist music added by Roger White and an excellent sound design by Clive Perry.
For those interested in short films and surreal art, The Eye Like A Strange Balloon is a great introduction.
Bloodlock (1998)
Exciting half-hour film (video)
Bloodlock gets you interested in the storyline from the start. Even the fact that it was shot on Hi-8 adds a news-like immediacy.
I seen Bloodlock on the DVD Short 9: Trust, which includes an audio commentary track which is well worth listening to, as well as some outtakes from the video.
Track this video down if you can; I'm sure we'll be seeing great things from these filmmakers soon.
The Heart of the World (2000)
Amazing short film
Fans of Guy Maddin should check out this new short film. If you thought his previous short film Odilon Redon was an excellent film, The Heart Of The World tops it.
The pacing is frantic, the storyline is the classic love triangle that Guy loves working with, the setting is heavily influenced by Soviet imagery. Even the editing style is very similar to that of Eisenstein.
What also makes this film work very well is the accompanying Soviet music entitled Time, Forward.
Whereas Guy's recent longer narratives have failed (The Hands of Ida, and Twilight Of The Ice Nymphs), his shorts films just keep getting better and better.
The Indian Runner (1991)
Excellent film
This is an amazing and powerful film. If you seen The Crossing Guard (Sean Penn's second directed film) and were disappointed, you weren't alone! But do yourself a favour, and check out The Indian Runner.
Great casting, story, soundtrack, etc. etc. One of my favourite films.