Tales From the Gimli Hospital

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Tales From the Gimli Hospital

Released Jul 28, 1989

1h 3m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

78%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

72%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Two men (Kyle McCulloch, Michael Gottli) share a hospital room during a circa-1900 smallpox epidemic.

Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

Maddin’s obsession with obscure Canadian folklore is evident right from the get-go.

Jun 27, 2023

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

Whatever else you might say about this weird, creepy, and funny independent item by Guy Maddin, it's certainly different.

Rated: 3/4

May 8, 2007

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Geoff Andrew

Time Out

There's a thin line between weird and strange, and Maddin's debut falls just the wrong side.

Jun 24, 2006

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Anne Brodie

What She Said

Guy Maddin's groundbreaking debut feature Tales from the Gimli Hospital restored in glorious 4K, .. gorgeously crisp, the sound perfection, with a long-lost scene of the 1988 cult classic about blistering lust and seething envy on Lake Winnipeg.

Rated: 4/4

Sep 30, 2022

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

It's a strange tale that never seems to be anything other than enormously funny and strange.

Rated: B+

Oct 4, 2006

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Aug 1, 2005

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Audience Member

Maddin's bizarre, remarkably audacious debut charms with offbeat wit and lo-fi craft; his quirk truly inspired.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/23

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Audience Member

Though Maddin may have gotten better, in this film he pretty much sets up his style for the majority of his subsequent films. It is by turns creepy, hilarious, disgusting, bizarre, and more. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't imagine how it got released in the 80s, when everyone stopped making artsty fartsy nonsense like this.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Audience Member

Ah, Mr. Maddin - you either love him or hate him.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/27/23

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Audience Member

Tales from the Gimli Hospital is surreal to the point where it is often comical. It plays off of some of the conventions of Hollywood's silent era well, to the point where if you didn't know it was from the 80's, you may have mistaken its parody for bad film making.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

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Audience Member

I remember the title from when I was a college-boy art-movie buff, and I wish I'd seen it back then. As it was, it took me 15 more years to discover Guy Maddin (with "The Saddest Music in the World"), and my life is all the better for it. As Maddin's first feature, it's obvious he's working with a very limited budget, his technique is still a little raw, and the story gets away from him every now and then. But his mad creativity and twisted humor are already running rampant. Early signs of Maddin hallmarks: solitude, cutting flesh, homeroticism, snow (OK, this time it's feathers). And most importantly, his ability to create a surreal but still totally believable other world. This one will definitely stay with me.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/14/23

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Audience Member

One of the only Good Canadian films around.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

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Tales From the Gimli Hospital: 4k Trailer

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Synopsis

Two men (Kyle McCulloch, Michael Gottli) share a hospital room during a circa-1900 smallpox epidemic.

Director: Guy Maddin
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 28, 1989, Original
Rerelease Date (Theaters): Oct 14, 2022
Release Date (DVD): Jun 11, 2007
Runtime: 1h 3m

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