Dreams, desires, naughty taboos: Guy Maddin and Evan Johnson's THE FORBIDDEN ROOM

Who else but Guy Maddin would hand us a Jesus quote to begin his film then follow this with enough degradation, deprivation and bizarre behavior to send a fundamentalist crazy. And crazy is the operative word for Mr. Maddin's latest lulu, THE FORBIDDEN ROOM, which, beginning with the opening credits -- that use the title backgrounds of several different, old-fashioned movie genres to introduce each new set of names -- proves as funny, fun, probing and as Maddining (to add a much-needed word to your movie lexicon) as his work always is.

Except that this time (the filmmaker is pictured at left), he's aglow with two-strip Technicolor, rather than his ususal black-and-white, and he seems to have abdicated altogether any hint of central theme or story and instead, Scheherazade-like, spun out tale after tale after tale until they seem to wrap around and turn in and on each other like wily, sometime deadly serpents.

This may be the movie-meister's funniest and most appealing work to date. It certainly boasts his starriest cast -- from

Canada's Roy Dupuis (below) to England's Charlotte Rampling to France's Mathieu Amalric and many more. Maddin has also, this time 'round, taken on a co-director, Evan Johnson (shown at right: the pair co-wrote, as well, along with a few others), who appears to have been responsible for the special effects, which are pretty much non-stop, though nothing like what Hollywood consistently gives us. There is not one car chase nor explosion to be seen, though a valcano -- the movie, in its use of silent-film titles and old-fashioned writen narration, uses intentional misspelling now and again -- does errupt a couple of times.

Subjects along the way include everything from bathing and bottoms to lobotomies and flapjacks, and we meet everyone from mad doctors (of course, just about everyone else is nutty, too) to doppelgangers and Janus-like Jekyll & Hydes.

There's the quest, 'natch, this time to save a beautiful young woman from... well, a number of differing fates worse than death, a mustache (worn first by Udo Kier, below) that manages to span three generations, and perhaps the most unusual kind of vampire you will have ever encountered.

There is a lot of fun to be had (my favorites include the aviatrix/lawyer and what particular objects are sacrificed to that valcano) and, as always with Maddin, there is the sensation that we are in the middle of this guy's own special and really bizarre dreams -- sexually, psychologically, emo-tionally and especially family-wise. The filmmaker, like Hitchcock but in such a different manner, is a voyeur who makes willing voyeurs of us all.

How inventive and imaginative can Maddin be? Very. However, can the guy keep all this up for a full two hours and eleven minutes? (The movie is now said to be be two hours flat, but the screener I viewed proved a tad longer.) I think this will depend on just how Maddin-crazy you are. I didn't flag, although I thought the movie occasionally did -- before quickly bouncing back with some new/old oddity and delight.

The Forbidden Room (every one of Maddin's movies is full of the forbidden) is one long fever dream of nostalgia, silliness, buried (as well as overt) sexuality and film references. If you've never seen a Maddin movie, this one should be a fine starting point -- and perhaps ending point if you're not impressed. That's Jacques Nolot, below, who has a ratther meaty role in the festivities.)

From Kino Lorber (and, I expect, unrated), the film opens this Wednesday, October 7, at New York City's Film Forum, and then in the weeks to come in a number of other cities. Click here then scroll way down to see all currently scheduled playdates.

Minos Papas' SHUTTERBUG takes us back to the weird 60s in style & theme, if not time-frame

Whew -- what a time trip! SHUTTERBUG, the new film from Minos Papas which looks like a million dollars, photog-
raphy-wise, whisks us back to a decade of experimentation: in film technique, style, story, and that old bugaboo, the search for identity. At least I think that's what on the movie-maker's mind. But I wouldn't want to swear to it.  That's also why the film reminded me of the movie-going experience during the mid-to-late 60s: Back then, we'd often watch a film as much for its "puzzle" factor as for any innate entertainment value.

Mr. Papas (shown at right) follows the "adventures" of a very hunky photographer named Alex -- played, as well as his role allows, by Nando Del Castillo (shown above and below) -- at work (he's rather driven and doesn't always treat his models nicely), at home (where his girl is growing tired of his unpleasant ways) and at play (or what passes for play in this guy's world: taking more photographs -- but outdoors). One day, as he shoots the sun, he looks into it and promptly starts having "eye trouble."

In this case "eye trouble" means seeing spots and then photographing a young woman who is not actually there. He consults a pal who tells him to visit an eye doctor (after engaging in a rather funny discussion of photography-against-writing as an art form), which he does (below). No problem. No: The problem is elsewhere. And here is where Shutterbug either falls apart, as it did for me, or perhaps will open up for you into a whole, wild new world, as the filmmaker takes us into a semi-phantasmagorical dimension in which our hero meets all kinds of weird folk (fortune-teller, street gang, pest exterminator, crazy cabbie, etc.) who help (or not) his search for identity and the "real," better Alex. Or maybe not. As I say, I'm not sure I have a clue as to what is on Mr. Papas' mind regarding this movie and what's going on. Maybe I'm wrong even about that identity thing.

Yet the photography looks awfully good, and so does Mr. Del Castillo, though he and most of the cast offer performances that appear either flat or one-note. Could be that they weren't sure what was going on either, or that, as written, their roles offered little chance for "range." At this point I did what I usually don't do -- and referred to the press notes given me by the film's very accom-
modating publicist. You viewers that go to the theater or wait for the DVD to arrive do not have the benefit of these press notes, so my theory is, "If my readers don't have access to any 'explanation,' why should I?" But in this case, I broke my rule and in the process discovered that the film, as Mr. Papas notes, "is inspired by Greek mythology, Dante's Inferno, and life in New York." Hmmm. OK.

Papas has been able to imagine and have photographed his fantasy elements pretty well (his cinematographer was Rossana Rizzo). But he needs to be able to come up with a better hook and follow-through so that we care a little more about the characters and what is going on here. Also, more attention to a comprehen-
sible script and more fulfilling dialog would be helpful. Still, the filmmaker seems to have come up with something that pleases him. He's made the movie he wanted to make. So now it's your move.

Shutterbug makes its theatrical debut this Friday, March 19, at the Cinema Village, after which its nationwide platform release will begin in the spring.

Further note: For those particularly interested in this film -- or in a look at the behind-the-scenes works that goes into making a low/no budget movie -- there's a lot of good information to be found on Mr. Papas'  Shutterbug blog.