Review of Tideland (2005) by Matti R — 28 Mar 2008

"And now for something completely different...".

I had almost given up my hope on Gilliam, but Tideland may actually be the best thing he's done this far. Basically I'd say it's about imagination. The innocent imagination of a child is juxtaposed against escapism of drug addicts, tragedy of the mentally challenged and morbidity of the deranged. This is not easy escapism for the fantasy-hungry masses! The story breaks all the conventions of what is considered normal and acceptable, and I can see why many people are offended by this. And any sane person will see that everything is seriously wrong (in one way or another) in this story, and that's the beauty of Tideland. At times it even reminded me of Alejandro Jodorowsky's work, without the occultism, that is. It's not "safe entertainment", but not mindless exploitation of shock value either. Good.