PINNLAND EMPIRE: Who, in your opinion, is the best active filmmaker working right now?
Guy Maddin: Without a doubt, Sokurov. Then Malick, for those of us, like all Canadians, interested in second place finishers.
Much of the promotion & interviews for Rumours are shrouded in this interesting lighthearted Canadian self-depreciation
if you're making movies in the shadow of America you're pretty self-conscious. You’re the little country next to the big behemoth. Many of my favorite movies are American – Evan Johnson, Reverseshot.com
America has this mythic scale that Canada doesn't quite have – Galen Johnson, Reverseshot.com
As Canadians we are not used to confrontation – Guy Maddin, hammertonail.com
Even when Canadians claim to dislike America or play up the rivalry, their personality is still based on being the underdog as if they have to prove something (it's similar to the almost one-sided sports rivalry between Boston & New York city).
Now...part of me feels like because Canadians are so openly insecure about their relationship to America that it’s an inside “bit” that all Canadians are in on for their own self-amusement and genuinely do feel like they're better than Americans.
Rumours is incredibly Canadian. It’s polite, strangely wholesome and filled with national pride (just underneath all of that are the weird darkly comical perversions that make Guy Maddin films so unique). I love the film as it stands but it would be an interesting “Five Obstructions"-like experiment to see the same film play out under the direction of a director from each of the seven countries represented in the movie just to see how different it would be.
The story pulls from obvious current events, old zombie films & B-movies and the lesser acknowledged work of fellow Canadian filmmaker John Paizs (Rumours would make for the perfect double feature with Paizs’ Top Of The Food Chain in that that they both get a lot of their aesthetic from old B-level zombie movies).
While this film is certainly shrouded in current events & social commentary through a Canadian lens (the character that represents Canada in the film is the most interesting & heroic of the bunch), Rumours is ultimately a comedy about the difficulty of working together & completing a group task. For those that don’t know, this isn't just a Guy Maddin film. He’s the most recognizable name of all the directors, but Rumours was directed by Maddin, Evan Johnson & Galen Johnson (things don’t even feel like a Guy Maddin film until midway in). Directing a movie solo is difficult enough but three directors all working at the same time is a lot. The task of directing Rumours and the basic plot of the film go hand in hand. In front of the camera is the story of seven world leaders trying to come to a consensus on a global crisis in the midst of an apocalyptic attack. Behind the camera are three filmmakers trying to make one cohesive piece of art. The outcome is one of my favorite films of the year and one of the best features Maddin has been associated with with in quite some time.
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| The Brain From Planet Arous / Rumours |
Rumours is getting more of a push than the average Guy Maddin/Guy Maddin-related film so it’s bound to get a wider audience than something like My Winnipeg or Brand Upon The Brain (Cate Blanchett might be the biggest movie star Maddin has worked with in his almost 40 years of filmmaking so her presence also helps it's popularity). This might not be the best entry-level Guy Maddin film but for folks like me that are familiar with his body of work, this is something new.
