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12 Rounds Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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$9.99 Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
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My Winnipeg
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MPAA RATING: Not Rated
Starring Darcy Fehr, Ann Savage, Amy Stewart, Louis Negin, Brendan Cade, and Wesley Cade
Have you ever wanted to relive your childhood and do things differently? Guy Maddin casts B-movie icon Ann Savage as his domineering mother in attempt to answer that question in My Winnipeg, a hilariously wacky and profoundly touching goodbye letter to his childhood hometown. A documentary (or "docu-fantasia" as Maddin proclaims) that inventively blends local and personal history with surrealist images and metaphorical myths, the film covers everything from the fire at the local park which lead to a frozen lake of distressed horse heads to pivotal and factually heightened scenes from Maddin's own childhood, all laced with a startling emotional honesty. My Winnipeg is Maddin's most personal film and a truly unique cinematic experience, winning the best Canadian film at the Toronto International Film Festival and the opening night selection of the Berlin Film Festival's Forum. (IFC Films)
| GENRE(S): | Drama |
| WRITTEN BY: |
George Toles
Guy Maddin |
| DIRECTED BY: | Guy Maddin |
| RELEASE DATE: | Theatrical: June 13, 2008 |
| RUNNING TIME: | 80 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: | Canada |
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
The average user rating for this movie is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 11 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Chris P. gave it a7:
It's watchable and amusing, but incomplete as a work of art. Maddin's voice-over narrative has some witty quips but deflates rather than fueling the romantic/mythic/dreamlike emotional energy he's trying for. The best sequence in the film is a silent recreation of a seance in the Legislature; only for these few minutes is the film allowed to speak for itself and achieve some real emotional impact. For such a visual director, he repeatedly violates the "show me, don't tell me" rule, so that the visuals and narrative don't add to each other but just run side by side, and that loosely. Also surprisingly, there are too few visual ideas in the film; Maddin keeps showing us the same image over and over long after the point has been made. There's some brilliant editing, but the style of the film is monotonous; intensity comes in random fits and starts, but never achieves any momentum or arc. Narratively, there's no insight what makes Winnipeg tick or why its city council makes the famously bad decisions it does, nor why Winnipegers allow those decisions to happen and nurse the feelings of betrayal that they do. Maddin's ironic detachment functions more as a self-protective mask than as an opportunity for critical reappraisal of the sentiments he's expressions. Overall, the whole thing comes across as fairly masturbatory (metaphorically speaking, although there is some fairly cliched stuff about sexual repression in here); one is tempted to think the director isn't interested in anyone's emotions but his own, and is not much in touch with those. There is a lot of potential in this film (it might have worked brilliantly as an all-silent film) but it's an unfinished and art-schoolish, not the work of a mature artist.
Bryan R. gave it a10:
WOW! Guy Maddin is filmmaker who hasn't has his vision stomped by TV or Hollywood -- like the last living real movie director cringing in an ice cave in Canada of all places!
sally w. gave it a7:
The sleepwalking theme was very strong and both myself and my boyfriend fell asleep half way through. I give it 7 for the part I did see. I liked the soap 'on the ledge', must catchu up with it sometime. Is Guy Maddin a hypnotist?
Missy H. gave it a4:
I felt as if I too were sleepwalking, a theme in this over long film. A 20 minute documentary on the very interesting though questionable subject would have been enough. A feature...not!
Michael S. gave it a10:
Guy Maddin's movies make me feel alive. I feel surges of happiness and melancholy like I'm on a great new prescription. What a ride Guy, thanks for the Art baby.
Lawrence T. gave it a9:
Very ingenious and creative without being pretentious ... I love this director and am glad that I newly discovered him ... I look for more from him to be just as intriguing .... I highly recommend this film.
Jb E. gave it a10:
Absolutely hilarious, though certainly not for everyone. i recommend it to anyone with a sense of the surreal and a sense of humor, or anyone remotely connected with central Canada.
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