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Guy Maddin: Filmmaker Guy Maddin
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[One] is tucked inside the suite where filmmaker Guy Maddin is receiving the press to discuss his glorious silent melodrama in 12 chapters, Brand Upon the Brain! He is a Canadian national treasure, but one guesses the extra security has something to do with the location, the luxe Chanel media suite. Perhaps there is some holy relic of Coco Chanel hidden in the building.
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From All Movie Guide: Frequently referred to as "the Canadian David Lynch," Winnipeg-born filmmaker Guy Maddin's surreal, dreamlike works are often cited for their striking visuals and obscure sensibilities. Whether he is recreating the look and feel of a frantic silent film in the acclaimed short The Heart of the World (2000) or basking in the over-saturated hues of Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997), it seems slightly unfair that, due to Maddin's strikingly unique talent as a filmmaker, critics and audiences still find the need to define him through the talents of another filmmaker. Given the decidedly primitive aesthetics of his celluloid universe, though, his work may demand it.
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In early 2006, visionary Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin set out with an all-Seattle cast and crew to make a movie. That simple premise led to "Brand Upon the Brain!" a surreal silent film with a live orchestra, celebrity narrators and spontaneous sound mixing that has delighted the film festival circuit from New York to Berlin.
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Guy Maddin perhaps can now stand alone, without the endless comparisons to better-known, more-established filmmakers like Luis Bunel, David Lynch and F.W. Murnau. He’s a fearless filmmaker, unafraid of possibly alienating his audiences if he wants to make a point in his own unique style. His ability to blend the look, feel and sound of the old, with the humour, irony and masochism of the new is utterly original and deserves its own attention.
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Maddin's father was a prominent hockey coach and manager, and his mother the proprietor of a local beauty shop, and both of his parents' careers had a profound effect on the young filmmaker. Whether watching the teams practice at Winnipeg Arena or playing with his friends at his mother's salon, Maddin's unique take on everyday eccentricities was fueled by numerous unforgettable childhood experiences. Two of these, in particular, were a piggyback ride from Bing Crosby and the advancement of a common cold into an intense neurological disorder that resulted in strange physical sensations; these experiences gave the imaginative youngster an acute and unique view of the world. Childhood memories and stories passed on by his parents have frequently found their way into Maddin's unique films as well, with the tale of how his grandmother accidentally poked out his father's eye memorably recreated in his first feature, Tales From the Gimli Hospital. As for his education, Maddin received a degree in economics from the University of Winnipeg, and his following years were spent as a bank teller and a house painter. His film education came not with any formal training at a trade school, but with endless weekends of watching films with close friends John Paizs and Steve Snyder.
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Guy Maddin is a Winnipeg-based filmmaker and writer. His feature films include Tales from the Gimli Hospital, Archangel, Careful, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs, Dracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary, Cowards Bend the Knee and The Saddest Music in the World. His films have won numerous prizes, and he is the youngest recipient of the Telluride Film Festival's Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Filmmaker Guy Maddin