Having proven himself as a filmmaker and established a reputation outside of Canada, Maddin began work on a series of feature films produced on larger budgets and more traditional production schedules and processes. His second feature, "Archangel" (1990), fictionalizes in a general sense historical conflict related to the Bolshevik Revolution occurring in the Arkhangelsk (Archangel) region of Russia, a basic concept presented to Maddin by John Harvie. Boles, a Canadian soldier suffering from amnesia, arrives in the town of Archangel as World War I is ending (due to the Bolshevik uprising, it appears as if the townspeople have, like Boles, contracted amnesia and "forgotten" that the war is over). Boles confuses the warrior-woman Veronkha with his lost love Iris and pursues her throughout the fighting. Fellow "drone" Kyle McCulloch stars as Boles. The film marks Maddin's first formal collaboration with fellow screenwriter George Toles.