Peeking through the "Keyhole"

Andreas from Pussy Goes Grrr here, with some good news for cinephiles! Guy Maddin, the Wizard of Winnipeg, will be premiering his new movie Keyhole at TIFF. It's been four years since My Winnipeg, and for one of the greatest living directors, that's clearly four years too many. Here's the official synopsis for Keyhole via The Playlist:

A gangster and deadbeat father, Ulysses Pick (Jason Patric), returns home after a long absence. He is toting two teenagers: a drowned girl, Denny, who has mysteriously returned to life; and a bound-and-gagged hostage, who is actually his own teenage son, Manners. Confused Ulysses doesn’t recognize his own son, but he feels with increasing conviction he must make an indoor odyssey from the back door of his home all the way up, one room at a time, to the marriage bedroom where his wife Hyacinth (Isabella Rossellini) awaits.

All of Maddin's usual tropes are here: amnesia, psychosexual tension, overwrought family melodrama, and voyeurism (it's right there in the title). This time around, it looks like he's mixing in some noirish atmosphere and hints of the supernatural. Furthermore, he's stacked the deck by casting his favorite actress Isabella Rossellini along with Lars von Trier's lucky charm, Udo Kier. All in all, this sounds like about the most characteristically Maddin-esque movie that Guy Maddin's ever made.

Does that mean he's repeating himself, though? I doubt it. Over the past two decades, Maddin's proven himself extraordinarily inventive and versatile, jump freely between war dramas, musicals, and autobiographical "docu-fantasias." According to Rossellini, Keyhole is "crazier than a Turin horse." I can't wait to see it so I can figure out what the hell that means.

Udo Kier and X-Ray via Guy Maddin

Are you a fan of Canada's weirdest son? Which of his snowy dreamscapes have you visited?

Related Articles:

• For a good Maddin primer, turn to Robert's "Modern Maestros" over at the old Film Experience site.
• If you're interested in Canadian cinema, Twitch has a detailed list of all the homegrown offerings that will be playing at TIFFL 

Comments

[Janice]

That description sounds like Maddin's literally riffing off The Odyssey? In any case there's a great tragedy vibe to it filter through a post-modern sensibility.

Confession: I've never seen a Maddin film, and I'm not a fan of Patric in particular, but Rossellini's participation has me intrigued. She usually picks interesting, out-there projects.

[Volvagia]

I've only seen My Winnipeg, which was masterfully weird. I think I will see Archangel at some point.

[PabloJohn]

i haven't seen his works. It sounds great~

[Paolo]

My Winnipeg (Guy Maddin was doing the narration live and after the screening my friend freaked him out), most of Brand Upon the Brain, parts of The Saddest Music in the World. I'm a Canadian and he's a national treasure.

[Alejandro]

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I love Guy! Brand Upon the Brain is so delicious and gorgeous.

Can't wait!

[catherine]

Isabella Rossellini and Udo Kier in Toronto : so wonderful !!!!!