GUY MADDIN - The Heart of the World

[blaiserfilms]

Canadian <3

[rose7art]

....i like the music

[lexmirnovideo]

@rose7art it's one of my favourite pieces of all time, Sviridov's ”Time Forward“

[rose7art]

@lexmirnovideo thanks! :)

[beatnikdig]

sweeeet

[ELBSeattle]

I love this short film. I have seen all of Guy Maddin's films. My favorites are (in order) 1) The Saddest Music in the World 2) My Winnipeg 3) Cowards Bend the Knee. I'm looking forward to his new film coming out.

[jamvaru]

well, you can watch it on YouTube, hahahaha!

[MissBillieDove]

Wooooo. That was epic. I'd seen My Winnipeg two years ago and loved it but I never checked out more Maddin - I think it's time now.

[AsianGlow]

@TheIceOfAlice you can see all the funding received if you watch the credits...

[castletriglav]

Very well made.

[PtAltmVansanTarr]

I think cinema, as opposed to saving the world, is going to end it. O me, its a symptom of art gone bad due to industry-most of it is created for ugly reasons

[PtAltmVansanTarr]

Awesome

[spankbandit]

This makes me want to work and work fast and hard.

[DasPadre]

God damn, I love Guy Maddin.

[wpwhitney]

As someone who has seen way too many silent films, I love The Heart of the World. It is fun picking out all the films referenced here - Greed, Metropolis, The Battleship Potremkin, Nosferatu, etc. I don't think it necessarily means that much, other than an affectionate tribute to the lost artistry of silent film.

[Rokudammela]

Great short, Maddin is a genius!

[almagenes]

16 people haven't seen the heart of their world

[xQueenKristinx]

i recognize the music in this from an old russian animation... does anyone know what the name of that is?

[amunac0]

@xQueenKristinx The Music is Georgie Sviridov - Time Forward! and was used in an older russian docu (to be found here on youtube). The music is also used in a canadian animation short movie from 2006 called Tower Bawher check w w w.nfb.ca / film / tower_bawher

[xQueenKristinx]

@amunac0 yes! thats exactly what i was thinking of, thank you

[peterphilip]

Best movie ever made. Seriously it is up there with 2001 A Space Odyssey.

[secondcousincurly]

The great problem here is that this film-- one of the finest shorts I've ever seen-- is posted in the wrong aspect ratio. This does the film and the filmmaker a terrible disservice. The film can be viewed in its correct format at Wally Danger's YouTube channel. Just search through his uploads. Sadly, that version only has a couple hundred views. Such are the mysteries of YouTube.

I would urge you to update this video with a correct version.

[heatstroke2008]

Film's amazing. Shoulda gotten some crazy awards.

[luvtub]

Let the haters hate - this is amazing film making.

[mickram23]

This owes a lot to Metropolis of course but is pretty impressive all the same.

[666slink]

Thanks for posting this! I just watched The Saddest Music in the World and wanted to check out some more of Mr. Maddin's exceptional work.

[toddmichaelreeves]

im an open minded person and have a wide taste but honestly didnt enjoy thi at all? is there something im missing?

[klbasey]

What piece of music is this?

[Kether23]

@klbasey "Time, Forward"

[heatstroke2008]

@klbasey Time, Forward by Georgy Sviridov :3 

[dings215]

was this a student film?

[TheOmninovoi]

@dings215 NO -- Guy Maddin was an establish director when he made this...

[dings215]

@TheOmninovoi - let me walk you through what I was actually saying. I was likening this POS to a student film. By asking tongue-in-cheek 'was this a student film?' I was really saying 'omg this is really awful, pretentious and lacking in overall quality of content so all signs are pointing to this being a talentless director or a student still trying to figure out how a camera works and falling flat.' In other words, I was not honestly asking if this was a student film.

[sclogse1]

Nice robes, Guy.

[sclogse1]

Support your local , or loco filmmaker...Guy has a book of his journals, etc. out. Find and buy. Guy finds himself broke a lot of the time...Support.

[asschaps15]

This film is absolutely amazing. I think the music in it is perfect and adds so much to the film. I especially like how it shows the world being saved by film.

[JacobDean24]

this remains to be my favorite Guy Maddin movie

[SwishyWishy]

it took me a couple viewings to figure out the biblical reference to the apocalypse, I was thinking the brother playing jesus was just a tongue in cheek joke

[tubbymctubsta]

i love maddin.

[Hayashigame]

What's the connection between Anna's choice between the two brothers and saving the world?

[nutherefurlong]

Maybe something each brother represents, that she thinks she needs love to keep the heart alive. Hard to say. It sure helps set up the conflict in the middle part pretty well, even if it doesn't fit together rationally :)

[ribogok]

Sombody tell Maddin the same joke is not the same fun when retold the 100th time.

[Sandbag209]

KINO!!

[TheNEWfilmfanatic99]

I like how this film mixes the agit prop editing of russian montage cinema, the eeire lighting and chinema techniques of german expression, and the warped visuals of french surrealism. It even has that ever so cheesy hollywood ending where the good guys win, which is so typical in american silents. Well done Guy Maddin.

[InformationPollution]

Ok. So what does that mean? What meaning does it produce? Or is it just a bunch of stylistic choices that ultimately mean jack shit?

[TheNEWfilmfanatic99]

@InformationPollution

I don't know. Kill Bill borrows haevily for Kung Fu movies and spaghetti westerns, but does it mean anything on its own? Take what you want from it. I admire both movies.

[InformationPollution]

Yea actually Tarantino is like the poster child for the useless recombination of forms, so I'm leading towards "no".

[TheNEWfilmfanatic99]

@InformationPollution

De Palma was accused of just copying Hitchcock. So I guess there is a whole collective of directors like this

[InformationPollution]

The key word is "useless" if someone can get something good out of copping another's style, go for it. Tarantino doesn't. I'm not so naive as to imagine that originality is possible. It's just a matter of not being totally empty with it.

[kxatlc]

The most exciting 6+ minutes of film I've ever seen!

[kdito]

This is a better end of the world film then the movie "2012" could ever hope to be.

[rdbollis]

I fully agree.

[AntinousIsGod1]

They use this music in the Russian videogame 'The Stalin Subway'!

[screamwriter1]

I would think people would me more pissed about the constant media clones played over and over on the networks of remakes of bad 70s slashers. I rather see a filmmaker embrace a long ago and much dead look to its fullness. I think hes underrated as a Filmmaker next to other " film auteurs " we hear about all the time.

[screamwriter1]

Guy Maddin is such a rare Canadian filmmaker (Try finding his stuff at the local rental shop) Yet people come out of the woodwork to slam him. Must really hit a nerve for that to happen LOL.

[tobiasR2001]

This is one of my favorite Guy Maddin films and its up against tough competition from "Careful" and "The Saddest Music in the World."

[HBomb81]

You know, you can study film and explore this in terms of avante garde cinema or whatever, but at the end of the day you either get totally into it or you don't.  Its art - either speaks to you or you'll never be convinced its worthwhile.

[InformationPollution]

Well I completely disagree. Nobody in this entire comment field has said absolutely anything that convinces me that this thing has value or meaning.

"Hey, can you tell me how The Great Gatsby is Art?"

"Certainly, it's a careful critique of American consumer culture and the moral wasteland it has produced."

"Hey, can you tell me The Heart of the World is Art?"

"STFU Noob you either like it or you don't"

Film students/enthusiasts are empty headed idiots there I said it.

[HIGHLANDERPRINCE]

I think I can answer that question. The question being, what makes The Heart of the World art. I'm not a film student, nor do I have any formal training or education in art of any kind whether it be movies, literature, music or actual visual art. But I am a fan of all forms of art and I like some and dislike others.

[HIGHLANDERPRINCE]

I think the film is trying to show the seductive abilities of industrialism and the negative effects that can have on the world. The final message, "kino" is another term for cinema and so I think Guy is saying that cinema is not only the perfect merger of art (the actor) and science (the mortician) but also a means of freeing the world. Like I said though I have no concept of film styles of theories so I may be way off, that's just what I see.

[InformationPollution]

@HIGHLANDERPRINCE Thank you! That was all I was asking for. Well done.

[HBomb81]

The Great Gatsby is great literature - you can't compare its written form to a work of art like Picasso's Guernica, can you? You're judging from the dangerous and ignorant place of narrative - in reality, its like comparing Fitzgerald to Joyce, or Ionesco's plays. Their ambitions are not mutual. Tell my why Gatsby, Ulysses or Rhinocerous are art, but then tell me how you will compare them to one another (when one is a play) and judge them on the same basis, and maybe I'll listen.

[InformationPollution]

My point wasn't to put this film and Gatsby on a scale. And Ulysses, Rhinocerous, and Guernica are all excellent examples, because they all MEAN something. How can anyone read Rhinocerous and not detect the agenda? I have my own take on what this film means, but you all don't. You are not concerned with that, and that's what makes it so fucking scary to deal with you.

[HBomb81]

INFORMATIONPOLLUTION

"I have my own take on what this film means, but you all don't..."

It must be hard to be the lone voice of logic crying out from the darkness of the terrifying abyss that is Youtube talkback. Why are you qualified to pass these judgements as little more than your opinion?

Regardless, you bypassed, ignored or were simply blind to my discussion of content vs. form. Well done.

Do you even know what Guernica is?

You did put this film and Gatsby on a scale together.

[InformationPollution]

Yes, I know what Guernica is. The difference is I don't think merely referencing art means I know what I'm talking about. I didn't put this film on a scale with Gatsby. I put the discussions on a scale. Arguing that one medium is inherently superior to another would be asinine. I was arguing that recognizing a film technique is common to french surrealism and another relates to German expressionism only means you've watched many films. Good job! People do this in literature too. Grow a brain.

[InformationPollution]

I mean other people gave me what I wanted in this discussion so really if you just admit that you and only you are a massive idiot who thinks that name-droppeing famous things makes him smart I can go about my business.

[HBomb81]

@InformationPollution Yet you keep coming back for more. Really - what validation do you need from me? I find people who work as hard as you do to prove themselves are capable of so little... Especially those tiny people who resort to insults unwarranted.

[InformationPollution]

No, actually it was quite warranted. I ask of you: if you see a thing with a stem and petals and nectar, does it not warrant being called a flower? So too does a man with enormous pretensions and all the thought of a nine year old warrant being called a pig-churlish asshole.

[HBomb81]

@InformationPollution

Well NOW you're just calling names on purpose! Generally you're right, unless we're talking Lovecraftian elder beings that are neither animal nor vegetable - but I'm sure we can both agree on that Colonel.

[InformationPollution]

Yes, sorry about all that. The dehumanizing quality of the internet sometimes makes it easy to vent your rage at someone and forget that you're being a jerk.

[InformationPollution]

And my basis is meaning. Anything can have meaning. A dance recital can have meaning.

[ColPicklejar]

Can someone help me understand this? A film student friend of mine claims it's a glorious affirmation of the power of film, but I can't see it as anything else but terrifying. Am I supposed to be excited by the idea of the image of a woman dancing around being superimposed over all nations and peoples? How can you say "pregnant with meaning" without actually going INTO it?

[mennoendt]

In order to understand it better or perhaps appriciate it more, you will need to study film history. Mainly Russian avant-garde film and constructivist art. That's pretty much what this is referring to.

[ColPicklejar]

But in what way does "referring" to it mean anything? How is it anything but a pointless allusion?

[TheTwoWhoWereTaken]

More like understanding the use of the Russian Montage and German Expressionism.

[mradamcooley]

What exactly am I "missing" with this guy? I've seen all his "major" films and a lot of his shorts, and I just don't personally find anything worthwhile in any of it. Extremely dull to me. As far as experimental cinema goes, James Fotopoulos, Giuseppe Andrews, Ryan Trecartin, Takeshi Kitano (anyone seen his newest films? Ripping apart the fabric of cinema itself!), Bella Tarr, and Damon Packard are what I currently find interesting. No offense to anyone who likes this stuff.

[HBomb81]

Maddin has been making these films for decades now - trust me, some of the names on that list have definitely been influenced directly of indirectly. At the least he's helped open doors for experimental work. Shoulders of giants. As you said - you "don't personally find anything worthwhile in any of it." A-ok. I can safely say his live show of BRAND UPON THE BRAIN is one of the most fantastic film experiences of my life.

[tubbymctubsta]

you are completely right.

[SongOfTheLastCamel]

This is a crazy two dimensional parody of both the modern cinema- very quick and rapid (kids are often used to fast action from cartoons so the movies are only getting quicker and quicker) but also the old, silent communist propaganda movies with armagedoom themes. Love this mixture.

[diytube]

It is too bad that this version is "stretched", hence the incorrect aspect ratio. It really hinders the enjoyment of this amazing short film.

[personaldumpster]

so true

[TheIceOfAlice]

This film is absolutely amazing, Madding is pure genius. It's a shame he's not better known, yet of course, it's the prize you have to pay to stay true to such a style. I really like his films, but I always wondered how he gets the money to do them, after all, none of Maddin's films seem to make much sense as theatrical release.

Of course I live in Spain so things may be different, maybe in Canada it's actually released in the cinema. I doubt it though...

[MitsukoKitano]

thanks for the great comment. i agree, guy maddin is a genius... sadly, not many people are aware he even exists. i'm pretty sure that most of his funding comes from private sources and government arts grants/loans.

and no, you are right.. his films are not shown at cinemas here in canada. unless it is part of a film festival or at a 'artsy' type theatre. shame...

[TheIceOfAlice]

But is he famous in Canada? Even though I have enjoyed all of the films I have seen by Maddin*, I can't understand how this films can make money...considering the budgets are rather high- for the "arthouse" standards- the result of the films seems to be absolutely not commercial. I can't see how any business can't be made from them.

* with the exception of "Twilight of the Ice Nymphs", visually stunning but very poorly acted.

[waterisyummy]

@MitsukoKitano

Actually i was lucky enough to see My Winnipeg in a theatrical run in Toronto at the Varcity which usually has a mix of blockbusters and art films. Although i'm sure it was a limited release and we get a lot more smaller films in theatrical runs then the rest of Canada.

[Kagemusha08]

@TheIceOfAlice I remember Brand upon the Brain "touring" here in the States (probably Canada too), where they'd have a show and have the soundtrack and narration done live, just like an actual silent film. Wish I had caught it.

As for funding, when your a respected director and your films don't cost much you'll usually be able to scrape together enough cash. I know a lot of countries will help out domestic films through grants and tax breaks.

[carolhutch61g]

@TheIceOfAlice What a lovely comment. I thought you might like to know that Guy Maddin's movies get a regular, though short, theatrical release here in Winnipeg.

[zenitizam]

Artavazd Peleshian, Armenian Filmaker. Creator of the "distance montage", Artavazd Peleshian, one of the key Soviet documentarians, removed the boundaries of feature and documentary films, editing both sequences as a real poetical unity. Even his student works (The Earth of the People 1966 and the Beginning 1967) shot at VGIK, the prestige film school in Moscow, were awarded numerous prizes and he gained recognition among filmmakers.

[teargarden]

..... pregnant with meaning.

[Konner]

If someone didn't tell me this was made in 2000, I'd swear it was made in the 20s.

[coocoocoocoooo]

It would for me too except for the electricity sound effect at the end.

[BigKmaniac]

no matter how many times I watch this I am floored ...

[MitsukoKitano]

i agree... it's still my favorite film ever. i get goosebumps just watching it

[oigres1983]

why? i say this in hopes that you or someone will explain it to me-- i assume the narrative isn't what should drive my engagement with the film and speaking in an especially subjective way, i guess, the frantic quality of the cutting and music almost makes it necessary for me not to engage with the film at all, so how am i to watch it while disengaged in order to consider it a favorite, or how am i to watch it without being disengaged; or why is it your favorite?

[jeffcostelo]

you feel emotionally disengaged?

[oigres1983]

emotionally but intellectually too-- actually, the crux of my question is that i'm not sure what to do with it-- obviously anything is interesting if you try, but the things that get a reaction out of people tend to be interesting without the person having to try, no? with this film, i'm not sure what to make of it-- is it a study in technique? is it a genre thing where since it's a short film there's supposed to be some specific way of watching it?

[eriko111987]

I don't think it's a genre thing in terms of length, but definitely in terms of reference points. It's an ode to soviet montage and German Expressionism - with a Maddin twist. You're going to watch it with whatever you bring to it: expectations, knowledge of film history, knowledge of the maker. So we'll all see it differently. I'm trying to say it's ok to not like it, but I don't think you are disengaged since you are trying to figure it out! IMHO the best films make you think.

[redmongoose208]

Fantastic.