The Saddest Music In The World
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Wed 18 August 2004 // 21:00
Sat 21 August 2004 // 18:00
THE SADDEST MUSIC IN THE WORLD
(Guy Maddin / 2004 / USA / 100 mins / 35mm / cert 15)
(Wed 18th-Thurs 19th @ 9pm + Sat 21st @ 6pm / £4/3)
Set in 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression this highly theatrical tragi-comedy is about an international challange to perform the most
heartbreaking tune, set by Lady Helen Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini), owner of a successful beer-making company. Along comes an extended family of amnesiacs, alcoholics and hypercondracts headed up by the cocky Broadway entrepeneur Chester Kent (Mark McKinney) to stir-up the competition.
Filmed in sub-zero temperatures on cheap, outdated equipment to mimic the grainy black-and-white look of something from the early thirties. It can be enjoyed merely for its visual stylisation and surreal whimsy, but this touching film also addresses the relationship between music, memory and personal tragedy, as well as lampooning America's capacity for crass cultural imperialism.
Based on an original England-set script by novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, but transferred by Maddin to his native Winnipeg, this is a true original- inventive, full of surprises and relentlessly bizarre... Look out for more Guy Maddin films at the Cube next month.
(Guy Maddin / 2004 / USA / 100 mins / 35mm / cert 15)
(Wed 18th-Thurs 19th @ 9pm + Sat 21st @ 6pm / £4/3)
Set in 1933 during the depths of the Great Depression this highly theatrical tragi-comedy is about an international challange to perform the most
heartbreaking tune, set by Lady Helen Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini), owner of a successful beer-making company. Along comes an extended family of amnesiacs, alcoholics and hypercondracts headed up by the cocky Broadway entrepeneur Chester Kent (Mark McKinney) to stir-up the competition.
Filmed in sub-zero temperatures on cheap, outdated equipment to mimic the grainy black-and-white look of something from the early thirties. It can be enjoyed merely for its visual stylisation and surreal whimsy, but this touching film also addresses the relationship between music, memory and personal tragedy, as well as lampooning America's capacity for crass cultural imperialism.
Based on an original England-set script by novelist Kazuo Ishiguro, but transferred by Maddin to his native Winnipeg, this is a true original- inventive, full of surprises and relentlessly bizarre... Look out for more Guy Maddin films at the Cube next month.