The Saddest Music in the World
Only the mind of Guy Maddin could conjure upThe Saddest Music in the World, in which a double-amputee beer baroness invites musicians of all nations to compete in a grand music competition... in Winnipeg. The only thing zanier than the plot is Maddin's style, which makes the film look like a lost artifact from theCabinet of Dr. Caligariera, a jumble of Expressionist compositions and gauzy focus. It helps if you're already a fan of the director ofCarefulandDracula: Pages from a Virgin's Diary, for this is not Maddin's most cohesive picture.Kids in the Hallstalwart Mark McKinney is a little too arch as a sharpie returning to Manitoba, but Isabella Rossellini is delicious as the "Beer Queen of the Prairie." By the time she straps on a pair of hollow glass legs filled with bubbly lager, you're either delighted by this movie or you've given up.--Robert Horton