Review of The Saddest Music in the World (2003) by Joshua P — 26 Aug 2008

My favorite thing about this movie was that it didn't feel the need to be absolutely effed up and weird to go along with the odd way in which it was filmed. I expected gratuitous strange-ocity simply because it was a black and white and basically looked like something filmed in the thirties. but, on the whole, it was a regular story.

That's not to say that it was conventional or run of the mill. it certainly had complex, strange characters that said and did outlandish things.

The story is basically a rich beer baronness holds a contest to see which country emits the saddest music in the world. the prize is 25 thousand dollars. sort of a big deal during the great depression. an estranged family of two brothers and a father who've been separated by years and tragedy and wrongdoing all meet again in Winnipeg to compete. of course, drama and comedy and twisting plot ensues.

The camerawork, making the film seem like it was made 70 years ago, was teriffic. there were times when I couldn't quite figure out if what I was seeing was something Maddin had shot, or whether it was some archived filmreel from 1937. it really didn't distract from the film, as I thought it might. it enhanced the mood and feel of the thing.