Rent The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

3.4 of 5 from 65 ratings
1h 36min
Rent The Saddest Music in the World Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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Synopsis:
Winnipeg 1933: it's the midst of the Great Depression and beer Baroness Lady Port-Huntly (Isabella Rossellini) announces a global competition to find the saddest music in the world. Musicians from across the globe - from Mexican mariachi to Scottish bagpipers to African drummers - travel to Winnipeg to play their woeful tunes in hopes of winning the $25,000 grand prize. Failed Broadway producer Chester Kent (Mark McKinney) brings his amnesiac girlfriend Narcissa (Maria de Medeiros) home to his native Winnipeg and enter the competition as the American contingent. He soon finds himself embroiled in a family reunion as treacherous and twisted as the competition itself.
Ultimately, a cataclysmic fire and the machinations of fate sort matters out for the sad characters and the denizens of the saddest city on earth. Part musical melodrama, part tongue-in-cheek social satire, Guy Maddin's expressionistic film achieves a level of lunacy rarely seen since the Marx Brothers.
Actors:
, , , , , , , , , , Graeme Valentin, Maggie Nagle, , ,
Directors:
Producers:
Niv Fichman, Jody Shapiro
Writers:
Kazuo Ishiguro, George Toles, Guy Maddin
Studio:
Soda Pictures
Genres:
Comedy, Drama, Music & Musicals
Countries:
Canada
BBFC:
Release Date:
04/10/2010
Run Time:
96 minutes
Languages:
English LPCM Stereo
Subtitles:
None
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen 1.78:1 / 16:9
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Feature Commentary track by Guy Maddin and Mark McKinney
  • Cowards Bend the Knee (Featurette)
  • Three Short films by Guy Maddin: 'Sissy Boy Slap Party',' A Trip to the Orphanage' and 'Sombra Dolorosa'

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Reviews (1) of The Saddest Music in the World

typical Canadian fare . . . but on acid - The Saddest Music in the World review by CP Customer

Spoiler Alert
26/09/2006

While crictically acclaimed in some circles this 'art house' flick has all the usual features of a Canadian film. Lots of funerals and snow and a plot line that leaves you depressed by the time the film's finished.

The film also has some additional unique features: the plot is convoluted and absurd and it pretends to be a 30s flick, not just a film based in the 30s.

Definitely the worst Canadian film I've ever watched.

My Mother and I stuck it out to the bitter end but I think only because we felt we owed to a fellow Canuck. My British Father had no such qualms and found something else to do in the opposite side of the house within about 10 min.

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