The 1000 Eyes of Dr. Maddin

Guy Maddin creates artificial worlds reminiscent of films from a distant past. Full of dream logic, spirits and perversions - but always humour. In this documentary with beautiful clips, he talks about his work and sources of inspiration, including the actress Isabella Rossellini and director Fritz Lang.
This informative documentary provides a glimpse of the wondrous oeuvre of the Canadian film-maker Guy Maddin, and often delirious pastiches of silent films. Well-chosen clips from Maddin’s work and that of his film-maker heroes, including Fritz Lang, Méliès and Buñuel, illustrate his recurring preoccupations. He is inspired by silent cinema, especially from Europe, has a predilection for dark fairy tales and the supernatural, and prefers to mix stylised melodrama with irony and humour. His work can be absurdist, surreal or mysterious, but there is always an emotional logic to it. The man himself, who loves bathing in melancholy, says he is striving for “psychic realism”. He compares his non-narrative films with music: something touches you without your knowing exactly how it happens.
Yves Montmayeur also speaks with several of Maddin's sources of inspiration, including as Kenneth Anger, the Quay Brothers, John Waters, Isabella Rossellini and Udo Kier.

Introduction by Tõnu Karjatse