Twilight of the Ice Nymphs

With the introduction of a larger budget, name cast and the presence of a major distributor, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs represents an enormous shift in the director's production process.

Voiceovers, intertitles and silent action give way to a full blown 'talkie' entirely scripted by George Toles. Likewise, the move to 35mm offers a new visual style; gone are the light leaks, Vaseline focus and degraded aesthetic that have dominated Maddin's previous works.

Loosely based on Knut Hamsun's short novel Pan, the film follows six intertwined characters, each in the impossible pursuit of love. The setting is a fantasy land, Mandragora, where the sun never sets. The unrelenting light makes the lurid colours of the landscape shine, but leaves each of the emotionally wounded characters with nowhere to hide. Deceits and jealousies are in full view, leaving fury and homicidal reactions in their wake.

With its dense dialogue and crisp picture, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs remains somewhat of a curio in Maddin's filmography; a visually sumptuous experiment in big budget filmmaking by the artisanal director.

"An enthralling feature, whose overwhelming stylization unexpectedly produces an emotional and psychological authenticity". - Chicago Reader

Screens with:

Odilon Redon or The Eye Like a Strange Balloon Mounts Towards Infinity Guy Maddin, 4 mins, Canada, 1995, Betacam SP, Source/Courtesy: Winnipeg Film Group
Maddin's surreal snowy reply to a BBC commission for filmmakers to create work inspired by their favorite artists - in Maddin's case, the painter and graphic artist, Odilon Redon.