Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight

I watched this documentary and really like Guy Maddin's ideas. Many of his films look like they are out of the 1920's. He does make this style his own though.

This film shows many clips from most of Maddin's films up to Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, including Careful and Archangel. It is a must see if you can't find many of his films to rent. I have only seen Twilight and Careful, but this movie makes me want to watch the rest of them.

It is very informative over all. Many interviews about Maddin's youth and his film techniques.

Strange, avant-garde, weird, bizarre, surreal, disturbing... these words and more add up to describe a lot of Guy Maddin's work. The question is, however, what kind of person is Maddin himself? Well let's just put it this way: a lot like his movies.

This documentary, narrated perfectly by Tom Waits (he has just the disconnecting, growling voice needed, weirdly enough) explores Guy Maddin's life, friends, family, and how they all inspired different parts of what makes Guy Guy--from tales of his father leaving him alone with hockey players to wash and dry them, to anecdotes about slacking off and stalking girls.

What makes this film really compelling is the dry humour of most of the people involved. Guy was definitely surrounded by a lot of interesting (some could say strange, I think they're fascinating) people who all kind of added to the worlds that Guy creates in his films. The documentary itself is true to his vision, even while showing the man behind them.

It's difficult to really make a documentary like this interesting or even telling to a personality who is usually hidden behind a camera, but I applaud the filmmakers for pulling it off.

--PolarisDiB