Au Revoir Simone - Sad Song (RAC remix)

Guy Maddin is a filmmaker from Winnipeg. I’ve seen only two movies by him, ‘The saddest music in the world’ and ‘My Winnipeg’, and what I can tell from watching those two is that he does very original work, he does funny very well, and he’s got a thing for Winnipeg and old black & white movies. The saddest music in the world is a quirky gem full of innovative ideas and hilarious moments. And it’s tragic. It’s the best example of a tragicomedy that I can think of.  It’s set in snowy black&white Winnipeg (with a few technicolor-style scenes) during the American prohibition and the premise of the story is this international contest for the saddest music in the world. It’s got hilarious scenes involving tobogganing directly into a giant beer-filled basin. But best of all, you get to see Isabella Rosselini parading on a pair of legs made of beer-filled glass. I am not kidding. The scene where she shows them off and tries to dance on them is funny and oh-so-very-sad. Those legs alone are what makes this movie a must-see. And Isabella’s character is iconic.

As for ‘My Winnibeg’, this is a more recent piece by Maddin. It’s actually a documentary shot in black&white.  Well, it’s a weirdly poetic, funny and very personal homage to Winnipeg using the documentary format. It’s filled with old footage archives of Winnipeg and re-enactments of some of Maddin’s childhood memories. What makes the movie work is the voice-over work by Maddin himself. His voice has this Sam-Spade-type quality that makes him sound like a private eye in one of those old film noirs. Except that there’s no murder to solve and no bombshell to save or to be saved from. There’s just Winnipeg. And there’s this comedic and poetic narration that, let’s be honest, kept me from dozing off at times.

Added bonus: in the London cinema where I saw the film, I was sitting next to an old tourist couple from Winnipeg, who kept asking people in the audience if they were from there too, clearly not understanding why anyone would want to see this film otherwise.(The above image is a movie still from My Winnipeg. Yes, these are the frozen corpses of dead horses trapped in iced water. It is now known as lover lane where young couples come hang out and get some lurve.)