I usually like quirky movies. Most of the time, when a film is a little too out there for my friends, I just get more excited to see it. That being said, there is still a point where my attention can be lost. Unfortunately, Guy Maddin’s My Winnipeg was one of those films that lost me.
Though I had never actually seen any of Maddin’s other work (he’s much more popular in Canada than the U.S.), I had gathered that he had a unique style and was some what of an acquired taste. True to the rumors, My Winnipeg was unlike anything I had ever seen.
The film is presented entirely in low-lit black and white. The scenes are divided with shots of falling snow, and they all visually reflect the dream motif that permeates My Winnipeg’s story.
Speaking of the story, Maddin categorizes his film as a “docu-fantasia.” The general premise is that Maddin wants to finally escape Winnipeg’s air-tight grip on its residents, but in order to do that he must first take a deeper look at his past, reimagining how things might have gone differently. The film includes scenes covering everything from the time Maddin’s sister hit a deer (and may have had inappropriate “relations” with a boy) to the bizarre “man pageants” that used to be presided over by the mayor.
Maddin narrates My Winnipeg in a semi-poetic fashion. Some scenes are almost completely lyrical, while others drift more toward traditional documentary narration.
Overall, while the film is definitely visually interesting and creative, I just didn’t find it to be entertaining. Though I don’t need a movie to be action packed, I do need to be engaged in the story in order to give it a positive recommendation. With that said, I can’t recommend My Winnipeg to most viewers. Unless you’re a fan of Maddin’s other work, or are seriously interested in bizarre arthouse cinema, I’d probably leave this one on the shelf.
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