Guy Maddin’s latest experiment, ‘The Forbidden room’ is an astonishing tribute to the history of cinema executed with tremendous craft and originality. The multidisciplinary Canadian artist and his co-director and regular collaborator, Evan Johnson, who is responsible for the film’s awe-inspiring colour and visual effects, began conceiving it in parallel with their art project Seances, both shot publicly in two museums, Paris’ Centre Pompidou and Montreal’s Phi Centre.
‘Seances’ original idea involved the shooting of 100 short movies, remakes of lost films, but while being made, it shifted towards more original material, altogether to become an interactive internet project in which the audience will be able to combine those films at random, generating an unlimited number of permutations connected in surreal; dream-like and unexpected ways.
‘The Forbidden Room’ has a separate storyline and cast, a jaw-dropping list of acting talent featuring such iconic screen presences as Udo Kier; Maria De Medeiros; Geraldine Chaplin; Mathieu Amaric or Charlotte Rampling, enjoying the best year of her career thanks to a remarkable performance in ’45 Years’; but it shares the same philosophy, leaving the impression it could have been one of those random permutations from the former art project. The collage of, often preposterous, plots and sub-plots are laid out in ways that challenge the limits of logic and imagination, shaping up an intoxicating cocktail of gorgeous hypnagogic hallucinations whose subjects range from a submarine crew facing the threat a dangerous jelly imminently melting; the dream of a volcano; Freud-inspired psychological treatments; squid thefts; bizarre fetishes; forest bandits; She-devils; weird medical conditions… somehow similar to watching an anthology of old B-movie trailers, joined in mind-blowing elliptical manner.
Technically, the diversity of ideas on display is also extraordinary; taken from the days of silent movies with their panto acting and written dialogues; the glorious technicolour era; the shocking value of the aforementioned B-movies or the bombastic excitement of the genre film. Liking a cinema theatre as a place where mysteries are unveiled; boundaries are pushed and thrills are to be found; probably the reason behind its suggestive title.
Experimental filmmaking is often approached with caution, due to its perceived highbrow nature, but here Maddin & Johnson defy all preconceptions by using, often laugh out-loud, sense of humour as the film’s other defining element. Shown at the IMAX as the Sight & Sound Experimenta Special Presentation, where the power of their vision will be enjoyed at its best, The Forbidden room is likely to be one of the festivals most unforgettable experiences for those who like their movies breaking new ground and exploring the possibilities of the medium. Lovers of linear storytelling and structured thinking should stay well away, though.
An unmissable choice for the LFF Connects events, a new series of talks exploring how film engages with other creative areas, Guy Maddin with be sharing his thoughts about how this project has altered his views both as a filmmaker and an artist. ★★★★
