The Saddest Music In The World
Picture: B-
Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B-
Guy Maddin is single-handedly bringing the language and
world of silent and early sound film to life again in a series of films that go
back to Tales Of The Gilmi Hospital in 1988, which are more than just
homage or imitation. No filmmaker has
worked more in monochrome film than he since that time since. Hanging in there until his work caught on
enough in the independent market, The Saddest Music In The World (2004)
takes the language he has been rebuilding all these years and tries taking it
into a more full-length-film-type of work.
That is key, as the very idea of full-length films eliminated the
creativity and fragmentation that made the silent world possible and the type
of films that uniquely marked them.
Here, a rich double amputee Beer baroness (Isabella
Rossellini, inescapably here as an intertextual link to David Lynch, including
films she was not in of his) holds a contest to find the title tune, but she
may find more than just a song when she offers a large reward that leads to the
music of each country in the world (in a depressed stage, as is the world of
Maddin either way) in search of the song that will match the world lived in. The center of the world in this case is
Canada, which becomes an ironic joke, as the visuals are so out of early
Hollywood. Of course, this is a
McGuffin, something only the characters are interested in and not the audience
for the most part.
Instead, it is about darkness and the human psyche, and
comic things cross into this world in distinctive and disturbing ways. Maddin, co-writing the adaptation of the
Kazuo Ishiguro screenplay with George Toles, he keeps his autueristic mark on
everything. Comedy and darkness are
found uncomfortably tied by a certain demented use of suspense and
inappropriate quirks of character behavior that seem like madness, but are just
exaggerations from the film itself.
Note the sped-up shots, unusual sound effects, inhumane behavior between
characters and talk at as talk to acting and dialogue delivery. Especially in a day when films are so
bloated and corrupt, original and challenging films like his can only continue
to catch most audiences off guard. This
all runs very well together and shows Maddin going into new territory with this
chosen path. If you have never seen a
Guy Maddin film, this is as solid an example of his work as any to start with.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image is good for
what it is, shot on various films stocks.
Besides any stock footage used (like old 35mm), 16mm and Super 8mm film
was used extensively, as was actual Vaseline to blur parts of the frame, a
precursor to the diffusion lenses eventually manufactured and used for
filmmaking in the early sound period.
Any distortions are intended and it works very well; especially
refreshing in an era of all-color filmmaking, many of which ironically degrade
and drain their color. The work here by
multiple camera operators in multiple formats, is far above that nonsense,
though some color mean to look like early attempts at color are included. Luc Montpeller, C.S.C., is the main
cinematographer. The Dolby Digital 5.1
mix is like a slightly expanded mono, but this is just stereophonic enough, yet
still wants to have the feel of monophonic sound, especially the oldest
kind. Dialogue and music are still
clear enough. Extras include
Maddin-directed short films A Trip To The Orphanage, Sissy Boy Slap
Party and Sombra Dolorosa, a featurette about the making of the film
titled Teardrops In The Snow (about 25 minutes), a look at the actors in
the film dubbed The Saddest Characters In The World (about 21 minutes)
and a set of nine teasers and final theatrical trailer for the film. Six trailers for other MGM DVDs are also included.
I can also say that for such a low budget, as is the case
in all Maddin films, the density of the world created is intense and
thick. That is not easy to accomplish,
but he goes so much further with his vocabulary than most filmmakers today do with
far more money and more advanced effects that it shames an incredible number of
filmmakers who know less than they would like to claim. Only the 1999 Treasure Island (reviewed
elsewhere on this site) is a Maddin film that comes close to accomplishing what
he continues to do. The Saddest
Music In The World is a solid step forward in the development of a
one-of-a-kind talent that gets better and better.
- Nicholas Sheffo
