The Saddest Music in the World (2004)

I think I've figured out why I never quite warmed to Guy Maddin -- I'd never seen one of his films in a theater before. Heavily stylized, with spastic editing and grainy cinematography that can appear washed out and indistinct on a dinky TV screen, his films are pretty much designed to be seen on in a large format or not at all. So, on the evidence of this film, I can see how I'd be a fan of the guy. The opening fifteen minutes are as funny and weird as anything I'm likely to see this year and twice as visually inspired; eventually, the film does run out of ideas (at the rate ideas are devoured here, it's no surprise) but then there is still the sight of Isabella Rossellini tap-dancing with glass legs filled with beer. The dialogue is comprised mainly of non sequitors, most of which are priceless (Theo cites the line about Siam, which pretty much says it all); meanwhile, Mark McKinney not only gets most of the best lines but happily has also finally found a place where his smarmy Kids-in-the-Hall demeanor is a perfect fit.

Grade: B