The Saddest Music in the World

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Mason M I always love a good Guy Maddin film, and this one was no exception. The Saddest Music in the World was a delightfully absurd film that's guaranteed to entertain. This picture is full of Maddin's signatures, surreal imagery, old filmmaking techniques, and his offbeat humor. The visuals are stunning, even though it's not the highest quality, Maddin still creates beautiful set pieces and spectacles. And the music in this picture is just as delightful. With this film, Maddin proves himself to be one of the most unique contemporary directors out there. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 04/19/25 Full Review joe m A fascinatingly bizarre, coherently muddled film, "The Saddest Music in the World" makes no sense and may seem to be a pastiche of scenes, yet it some how all comes together. Isabella Rossellini is absolutely stunning with her performance as Lady Helen Port-Huntley, the legless beer baroness. She decides to hold an international contest for, yes, the saddest music in the world. And this is in, of all places, Depression era Winnipeg of all places! Three of the other main characters - Maria de Medeiros as Narcissa, David Fox as Fyodor Kent and Ross McMillan as Roderick Kent / Gravillo the Great - all give stand out performances. The one actor not quite up to par, yet some what intentionally given his role as the ever over confident American impresario is Mark McKinney as Chester Kent, who is just slightly off. The cinematography and scenes are spectacular, reminiscent of 1920's German avant grade film making. "TSMITW" is a movie to see at least once so the viewer can come to their own conclusion. You may hate it, but you'll never forget it. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member Enigmatic inebriation. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Ten years after its (very) limited theatrical release, this remains as one of the most purely imaginative and intriguingly bizarre cinematic experiences I have EVER watched and/or witnessed. 'The Saddest Music in the World' is set in 1933 and stars Isabella Rossellini (Death Becomes Her) as the legless beer baroness, Lady Helen Port-Huntley, whose sad-ish life in the lonely and (Great) Depression-ravaged city of Winnipeg, Canada, announces a singing competition to be hosted in her city to find "The Saddest Music in the World". Contestants from the far-reaches of the globe pour into Winnipeg and sing/perform one sad song after another. Port-Huntley is unaware that some of the entrants have past (tragic) connections to her from years earlier but she does make the connection with the singer representing the Land of the Maple Leaf, Fyodor Kent (David Fox - Mama) -- who gifts Lady Port-Huntley two glass legs filled to the brim with liquid gold (beer). Fyodor has two sons also competing for the top prize (representing the US and Serbia) -- which becomes something other than the $25K -- when more of the past is remembered and tears begin to flow freely. Director Guy Maddin has created an unusual experience here with heavy use of authentic-looking grainy, black-and-white images -- with bits of color toyed around with onscreen from time to time. The film and storyline are both absurd but it is all about spectacle ... Lady Port-Huntley walks around in glass, beer-filled legs while people sing sad songs. We are supposed to enjoy the absurdity here ... and I did. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/24/23 Full Review Audience Member I always think of Maddin's films as answering a "what if" question ... What if the technology of movie making had never advanced even though our sensibilities did? His stylistic homages to silent film steel feel strikingly modern. While not his best film (an honour I'd probably give to "Careful"), this is probably the nest entry point to his filmography. Very familiar actors ... Isabella Rosselini, Mark McKinney, Maria de Madeiros ... share the screen with Maddin regulars like Ross McMillan. Kazuo Ishiguro's screenplay is a much more conventional narrative than earlier Maddin films. Rated 4/5 Stars •  Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/01/23 Full Review Frances H Totally absurd story meets The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari brand black and white expressionism. Interesting, but bizarre. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/12/13 Full Review Read all reviews

The Saddest Music in the World

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