The Saddest Music in the WorldWinnipeg, 1933. Local beer baroness, Lady Helen Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini) decides to capitalize on both the economic depression and the inevitable repeal of Prohibition across the border by hosting a contest to determine which nation in the world can truly claim their music is the "saddest in the world". As strange as this might seem, this is the most straightforward explanation of The Saddest Music in the World one can hope for, because this film is another entry into the uniquely surreal catalog of walking hallucinations from the inventive filmmaker, Guy Maddin. So grab your legs (if you can) and prepare for a hoppy brew, a bazaar of the bizarre.
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The Saddest Music in the World reminds me of a lost relic from the silent film era, while simultaneously appearing as a reenactment of events surrounding a moment in history, a period piece of what is so bizarre it cannot be real. The "silent movie" touch is a staple stylistic flourish of Guy Maddin, although this film is possessed of an audio track, intentionally made somewhat scratchy and a bit unclean to keep with the aesthetic. The screenplay was adapted (very loosely) from one by acclaimed novelist, Kazuo Ishiguro, although this film has more in common with his novel "The Unconsoled" than, say, "Remains of the Day". Other elements often found in Maddin's work spring forth to life in his unique vision of his hometown, tropes like sleepwalkers, persistent snow, and even hockey. Although largely shot in black and white, moments of color crop up periodically. One such moment comes when cynical huckster, Chester Kent (Mark McKinney) attends a funeral with his lover, Narcissa (Maria de Medeiros), as he seeks to recruit sadness to win the contest and the associated twenty-five thousand "Depression Era" dollars. He speaks of how sadness is a mere act, a convention adopted by those from whom it is expected to garner attention and sympathy. In this scene, the film jarringly turns to a crude colorization, reminiscent of the film colorization efforts made by eccentric media mogul, Ted Turner. The connection here is that the colorization appears as artificial to match Chester's jaded world view. Other moments of infrequent color are reserved for dreams and other delusions, funerals and finales, when the swell of fantasy reaches its apex. The look of The Saddest Music in the World is also emblematic of the setting and conceit of the story. Even in black and white, the film appears washed out and neglected by design. Everything seems filtered in an alcohol-soft glaze, and characters speak with diction that flows as though from inebriated, soporific lips. This Winnipeg is one where the Port-Huntley product, Muskeg Beer, is such a pervading part of life, it would be a wonder if anyone could remain sober; thus the somewhat drunken manner of speech by the characters seems a quirky fit.
As Lady Helen Port-Huntley announces her contest over the loudspeaker from the opulent office of her popular product, her voice is heard around the world, drawing crowds from far and wide to face off in an international competition of musical prowess. Nations such as Mexico and Thailand (formerly Siam) perform the songs of their homeland, while banal commentators announce play-by-plays of the performance. The winner of the piece is dunked into a tub full of Muskeg Beer, as American radio listeners pine for the chance to wet their collective whistles on alcohol again, playing right into Helen Port-Huntley's Machiavellian plan to corner the market when the repeal of Prohibition comes. More than the contest, there seems to be an effort on the part of the reluctantly reunited Kent family to confirm who is the "saddest" member of that clan. For prior to the events of the contest, Helen was lover to Chester, but was pursued by his father, Fyodor (David Fox), who finally gave up the drink after a freak car accident--which plays out like a bad barroom joke--and amputated her legs. Crushed by the unrequited love and his inebriated error, Fyodor--the ambassador for Canada in this contest--has crafted a pair of elegant glass legs for Helen, both filled with bubbling Muskeg Beer. Not unlike the lascivious lamp from A Christmas Story, the legs seem to draw the light and revitalize Helen, although she still will have nothing to do with her pathetic suitor. And Chester's brother, Roderick (Ross McMillan), returns from a self-imposed exile, under the alias of "Gavrilo the Great", representing Serbia, proclaiming his sadness to be reinforced by the unfortunate actions of that nation in starting "The Great War", World War I. One consistency between the characters in this film--and even other Guy Maddin films--is that the characters are satellites orbiting their compulsions. Roderick especially seems to exist only to be sad, carrying around the heart of his dead son in a mason jar filled with his tears--and, no, that's not a metaphor. Even Fyodor always seems to find himself obsessed with legs, either those of Helen, or the legs to a stool in his home, sawing them off at one point or another. In a way, The Saddest Music in the World recreates a version of a "world war" in the form of the competition. Far less bloody by comparison, it does pit nation against nation in an effort to top the other in a battle of tragedy, all reported on with hysterically inappropriate correspondence by radio waves. The harmonies of potentially discordant music gives the film a unique aural signature, creating an interesting score, and even Chester's efforts to absorb other nations' musical qualities for his own enterprise recalls the idea of America as a "melting pot" of cultures, by accident or design, and even cynically points that America has a tendency to self-aggrandize its contributions to international efforts. Although the competition builds to a heated boil, the film is ultimately a black and white comedy--emphasis on the black humor--and is a demented vision of a moment in history that never was, save for the vestiges of reality which serve only as the loosest of set dressing, not unlike a dream.
Recommended for: Fans of a surreal and strange, ironically humorous tale of a Depression Era battle of music--economically and emotionally. It is strange, funny, weird, and unmistakably Guy Maddin. And after seeing it, one can never quite forget the image of Isabella Rossellini and those glorious beer-filled gams. Cheers!
As Lady Helen Port-Huntley announces her contest over the loudspeaker from the opulent office of her popular product, her voice is heard around the world, drawing crowds from far and wide to face off in an international competition of musical prowess. Nations such as Mexico and Thailand (formerly Siam) perform the songs of their homeland, while banal commentators announce play-by-plays of the performance. The winner of the piece is dunked into a tub full of Muskeg Beer, as American radio listeners pine for the chance to wet their collective whistles on alcohol again, playing right into Helen Port-Huntley's Machiavellian plan to corner the market when the repeal of Prohibition comes. More than the contest, there seems to be an effort on the part of the reluctantly reunited Kent family to confirm who is the "saddest" member of that clan. For prior to the events of the contest, Helen was lover to Chester, but was pursued by his father, Fyodor (David Fox), who finally gave up the drink after a freak car accident--which plays out like a bad barroom joke--and amputated her legs. Crushed by the unrequited love and his inebriated error, Fyodor--the ambassador for Canada in this contest--has crafted a pair of elegant glass legs for Helen, both filled with bubbling Muskeg Beer. Not unlike the lascivious lamp from A Christmas Story, the legs seem to draw the light and revitalize Helen, although she still will have nothing to do with her pathetic suitor. And Chester's brother, Roderick (Ross McMillan), returns from a self-imposed exile, under the alias of "Gavrilo the Great", representing Serbia, proclaiming his sadness to be reinforced by the unfortunate actions of that nation in starting "The Great War", World War I. One consistency between the characters in this film--and even other Guy Maddin films--is that the characters are satellites orbiting their compulsions. Roderick especially seems to exist only to be sad, carrying around the heart of his dead son in a mason jar filled with his tears--and, no, that's not a metaphor. Even Fyodor always seems to find himself obsessed with legs, either those of Helen, or the legs to a stool in his home, sawing them off at one point or another. In a way, The Saddest Music in the World recreates a version of a "world war" in the form of the competition. Far less bloody by comparison, it does pit nation against nation in an effort to top the other in a battle of tragedy, all reported on with hysterically inappropriate correspondence by radio waves. The harmonies of potentially discordant music gives the film a unique aural signature, creating an interesting score, and even Chester's efforts to absorb other nations' musical qualities for his own enterprise recalls the idea of America as a "melting pot" of cultures, by accident or design, and even cynically points that America has a tendency to self-aggrandize its contributions to international efforts. Although the competition builds to a heated boil, the film is ultimately a black and white comedy--emphasis on the black humor--and is a demented vision of a moment in history that never was, save for the vestiges of reality which serve only as the loosest of set dressing, not unlike a dream.
Recommended for: Fans of a surreal and strange, ironically humorous tale of a Depression Era battle of music--economically and emotionally. It is strange, funny, weird, and unmistakably Guy Maddin. And after seeing it, one can never quite forget the image of Isabella Rossellini and those glorious beer-filled gams. Cheers!