3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A troubled production results a mixed bag from Maddin, May 26, 2002
This review is from: Guy Maddin Coll: Twilight of the Nymphs [VHS] (VHS Tape)
After the great cult success of his cult films TALES FROM THE GIMLI HOSPITAL and CAREFUL, Guy Maddin acquired a much larger budget and attracted much better-known actors to star in his first full-color feature, THE TWILIGHT OF THE ICE NYMPHS, which represents a great departure in his work. All his earlier major works had been largely parodies of Twenties and Thirties experimental films from Germany and the former Soviet Union. ICE NYMPHS seems instead to be a send-up of (of all things) symbolist drama and opera. Set in the mythical land of Mandragore and shot in hyper-saturated colors, the film tells the story of Peter, an ex-convict who returns to his sister Amelia's ostrich farm after he falls in love on the ship journey home with the lovely Juliana. While hunting (or "sleephunting," as he is prone to do), Peter awakens the ardor of a mysterious woman in the forest, Zephyr, who prays to a statue of Venus that Peter should fall in love with her. But after trysting with Zephyr, Peter discovers that Juliana has returned and has become the mistress of Dr. Solti, the wooden-legged Mephistolean conjurer and physician his sister is madly in love with. Meanwhile, Amelia is herself fending off the furious ploys of vengeance made by her servant, Cain Ball, who desperately wants to acquire the ostrich farm...
If all this suggests a strange turn-of-the-century opera, such as PELLEAS ET MELISANDE or DIE FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, it should: there's even opportunities in this film for arias to be inserted, such as during Peter's bizarre lengthy command to the trees to enclose upon Dr. Solti and Julian. But despite many great moments of visual beauty (especially thanks to the glorious use of color filters), it's clear that Maddin is over his head here: he doesn't have the kind of control over his material he did in his earlier works, and the professional actors seem to gum up the works a great deal. In his earlier films, Maddin's familiar cast of gifted amateurs (Sarah Neville, Brent Neale, and especially Kyle McCulloch) work wonders with the arch dialogue and campy situations Maddin and his usual screenwriter, Peter Toles, dream up: they deliver the lines with great wide-eyed sincerity, which the material absolutely requires. But here the experienced Alice Krige (who previously did a short with Maddin) and Shelley Duvall seem hampered by the intentionally hokey dialogue. Worst of all, Frank Gorshin, in a disastrous turn as Cain Ball, keeps hamming things up (by practically winking at the audience that he's in one the joke too) which spoils the humor entirely.
Reputedly Maddin was miserable during this production because of his inability to control his cast and crew, and the unhappiness shows onscreen: fortunately, he entirely bounced back the year after ICE NYMPHS with his masterpiece short THE HEART OF THE WORLD, where he returned to more familiar territory.
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0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A UNIQUE VISUAL DELIGHT, November 19, 2002
This review is from: Guy Maddin Coll: Twilight of the Nymphs [VHS] (VHS Tape)
I've now watched this movie twice & it's starting to grow on me. By Guy Maddin's own standards this is definately a departure from his usual unusual expressionist style. The storyline is a bit incoherent, but the look is truly a treat for the eyes! Any fan of Guy Maddin should appreciate what he was trying to accomplish here, a remarkable vision on par with any of his other feature films.
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