VIFF: The sweetest interview
David Wilson McLeish, Peak Staff

Guy Maddin is Canada's latest cinematic darling, and it's no wonder, what with all the interviews he's been doing. Little skips like the Peak rarely get to sit down and talk with famous people, so when we get a call, you know someone's on the blitz. Cynicism aside, Guy Maddin's latest film, The Saddest Music in the World, played at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It is a dark-ish comedy about sadness, music, and beer. And Winnipeg. But more specifically (and you'll probably read this phrase in every article about this movie), it's about mythologising Winnipeg. There's that cynicism again. Why don't I just let Guy do the plugging. These are the most interesting excerpts from my interview.

David: What do you think is the saddest song in the world?

Guy: Happy birthday. And it's not because I'm growing old. I've never been able to respond to that song properly, even when I was four. I felt that all my responses to receiving gifts were inadequate and failed to express proper gratitude, and it just made myself and everyone else uncomfortable.

David: What does it mean to "mythologise Winnipeg"?

Guy: I'm doing for Winnipeg what America has done for war heroes, like George Washington chopping down the cherry tree.

David: Whoo! Fancy hotel room, eh?

Guy: I make movies that seem to be about movies, even though they're not meant to be. I think they're fun for critics to write about; whether they liked the movie or not, it's still fun to try to make your way through them - like a filmic word association test - it reminds them of going to film school.

I was on the CBC the other day, and someone asked me if there was something I wanted to film that I hadn't filmed yet, and I couldn't think of anything then, but later, I thought of something that happened to my family - my mother's father was living out on a farm in the forties, and he died during flood season. My mother had to ride out on horseback through the flood waters to her birthplace to bury him. The body had been put in a shed and tied up by his sons so that rigor mortis wouldn't twist up his limbs too much, 'cause if you're just left untied, you'll turn into a big bacon rind - all curled up. So he was tied. And my mother arrived, and she and her mother cut off the ropes and cut off all the clothing and sewed these new funeral clothes onto his naked body while his sons built a coffin for him. They dug a grave, too, but it was flood season so it was full of water, so all six children had to stand on top of him and sink him while farm hands filled in the aquatic grave. My mother's been haunted by dreams of it the rest of her life."

Eat your heart out, CBC. We scooped ya! But the blitz continued. I was blessed to get an audience with one of my lifelong heroes and all-around good kid, Mark McKinney, who stars in The Saddest Music in the World alongside Isabelle Rosselini. He wanted to smoke, so our interview took place in a non-smoking stairwell designated celebrity-friendly. Mark is just like he is on TV, and standing there with him, smoking where we shouldn't be -I really felt like one of the gang. It was so cool. You should be so jealous. Here's some of what he said.

David: Was this a film you chose to work on, or were you approached?

Mark: I read the script, and it was so good. I had a stack of scripts that my manager had sent me from L.A., and then there was Guy's script, which was like [exultant falsetto]! I wanted to do it so bad, it was hard to be cool, 'cause you have to be cool, right. [mock phonecall] "Oh yeah. I, no - yeah, I think I read it, hang on, I think it's here... "

David: Did you enjoy making the film?

Mark: It was really a unique experience. There are these little pockets of light that you hope to have throughout your career where you really enjoy what you're doing, so you know what to look for the next time. This was definitely one of those experiences. It changed the way I think of a career in film.

David: Any Oscar aspirations?

Mark: Yeah! No. Wouldn't hurt. It's a good thing to have on your resume. It's on mine, I just hope nobody finds out.

[Mark is brought an ashtray.]

David: How was working with Isabella Rosselini?

Mark: She was great. You can see why she's working all the time. She's a total kid - playful, in the best way. And her mom is Ingrid Bergman, who won four Oscars. I mean, she is film history, standing there.

David: Do you remember what you wrote to me on my autograph?

Mark: No! What?

David: Uh, I don't remember. "Best wishes," I think.

Mark: Yeah, I write the lamest autographs. Well, my best wishes remain in effect.

Mark said a lot more, but he said it with his eyes. I would encourage you to see The Saddest Music in the World, but the film festival is over! Tuff luck!

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