Keyhole

This is a brilliant film, if you are, now, or have ever been an old man or if you are, now, or have ever been a middle aged woman. Guess which one I am?In rare form, I'm going to take a moment, just to let you know a little bit about this film, before giving release information. In this film, Guy Maddin attempts to sum up the absurdity of human existence, family life, our interchangeability, our forgetfulness, our inability to learn from our mistakes, and he does a bang up job. However, this film, by the very nature of the discussion he is attempting to have with the audience, is, and had to be, quite surreal. The film, in hazy black and white, never really black and never really white, with a bit of an antique sepia tone blended in for effect, covers the journey of a 1920s gangster who has, obviously, died. He and his compatriots arrive at his home in what is clearly some kind of Hell or Purgatory. This is all a given, of course, not a mystery, not shrouded or concealed, because Maddin is not trying to surprise you with some silly plot point, like they were dead the whole time. He wants to sum up the lives of the key characters, members of a family, via their shared experience in Purgatory or Hell. He tells you who each character is, even when they are unknown to each other, and he asks you to watch as they journey through a partly physical, partly metaphysical, party metaphorical house, representative of the home in which they lived, but not quite the same, and to witness the post-life interaction that has resulted from how they conducted themselves in life and who they were. This film is incredible. It is one of the best films I've ever seen. But, in order to enjoy it, I had to stare at the screen, focus only on the film, have caffeine first, and be a middle aged woman with an elderly father who loves metaphor and explorations of the afterlife in film.I can't say whether or not you will like this (of course, who could, given how different we all are in our tastes) but, if you are looking for a serious film that delves into the issues of life and love and meaning, absurdity, pointlessness, and the like, this may appeal to you. The man in the film, the husband and father, comes home, not knowing his own son. He has replaced another son, previously killed, with another person, because that is what we do, when irreplaceable loved ones die. He is estranged from his wife, both unfaithful to each other. He seeks her, more than anything else, and they ignore each other and fail to connect again and again. She, a middle aged woman, lives with her father, who is elderly, naked as a baby, chained to her bed, in her bedroom, sleeping on the floor as a baby would sleep in crib. They are trapped together in the cycle of life, the woman who cares for her father and won't let him go. Of course, the house is full of ghosts. If she unchains him, releasing him, he will be one of them. The text and subtext are clear and, if you have ever refused to let a parent die on their own terms, this will more than likely resonate with you.Essentially, this is an art or indie film that uses the setting of a haunted house to tell the story of the family that haunts it together and haunts each other. I love it. I hope you will too. But you may not. On to the release info....Release Information:This film was released on DVD, Blu-ray and in Digital HD, in America, by Monterey. The scan and version is identical, across the releases, with the SD, low resolution version on DVD, and the HD, high resolution version on Blu-ray, and a slightly lower quality HD on Digital.The Blu-ray version, is, of course, the best. The film is meant, at times, to be overly grainy or soft or odd, as the image is used to speak to the audience, conveying information visually beyond just setting and the like, but this version, with that variable image, represents an accurate copy of the film as it was intended to look. From my perspective, as a fan, it looks spectacular and I wouldn't change a thing. Some have complained to me, upon viewing, that the film is uneven and, even though they know this is what was intended, they find it annoying.The Digital HD version is nearly as good as the Blu-ray, with just a slightly softer appearance overall, owing to a lower Mbps on that picture quality. For sound, it is the same as the Blu-ray, to my ears.The DVD, for me is a waste of time, because I have the Blu-ray, but, if you don't need HD, it is an accurate but low definition version of the film and all you lose, in that version, is a bit of the clarity overall and a bit of the clarity on the image overlay, where the director used hints of images of prison bars and the like to create a feeling of being trapped. It is still excellent but, if you can go HD, it will improve the film quality.I hope this helps you and good luck in finding a film you will love as much as I love this one.

This black and white gangster-era retelling of Homer's The Odyssey in a haunted house is not for Guy Maddin newbies. It's so many simultaneous kinds of weird and has a narrative so far from straightforward, it's likely to puzzle and frustrate even open-minded viewers who haven't been exposed to Maddin's oeuvre. My advice, start with The Saddest Music In The World or Twilight Of The Ice Nymphs and circle back to this one after you have a few Maddin films under your belt.The plot - as best I can describe it, involves a 1930s crime gang, lead by Ulysses (Jason Patric), having made their way into Ulysses's home. Ulysses's wife, Hyacinth (Isabella Rossellini) waits at the top of the house with her naked and chained father (Louis Negin), who narrates the story. As Ulysses and his gang go from room to room, memories come flooding back to our hero. A greater understanding of the house and its inhabitants takes shape as it becomes clear not all is as it seems.Alas, the precise details of what is happening (or has happened) in Ulysses's house remain fuzzy right up to the end. Watching Keyhole is like watching a dream inside Guy Maddin's head without any prior context as to the meaning or significance of it all. The way to enjoy the movie is to throw your plot-digesting film habits out the window and just take it in. Even when he makes the least sense, Maddin is an engaging and distinctive filmmaker on just about every level within the medium (writing, editing, mise-en-scene). For me, Keyhole was captivating from beginning to end. Maddin has a dark, dry, twisted sense of humor I find refreshing, which non-fans, I suspect, find cloyingly provocative or gratuitously strange. To each their own.My only real problem with the movie is the sudden, anticlimactic ending that leaves everything hanging. It's like waking up from a strange dream before you had a chance to see how it all turned out. Sure, you can rationalize the meaning of it, but it still leaves you looking back, wondering what you missed. Nonetheless, the ride on the way is worth it. If you're a Maddin convert, Keyhole should not be missed.

I put off watching this for awhile, because as a great admirer of the director I had heard that this was the worst film he's ever made. I heard it was boring, incomprehensible, pointless, difficult to see, etc. I'm happy to say that for me it wasn't any of those. This is pure Maddin albeit Maddin expanding into a new genre a bit. It reminded me thematically of The Seventh Seal. And I loved the Greek references throughout, there is something a bit Agamemnon about our protagonist. As far a technical aspects go, personally I would have preferred to see Maddin imitate the style of noir and gangster movies, but Maddin chose his usual style. The plot was very easy to understand, I mean if you are at all familiar with his work. The refusal to give the film a definitive denouement was surprising. By ranking I put this with Brand Upon the Brain and Cowards Bend at the Knee, after Careful but way before The Saddest Music in the World.

I decided to give this movie a shot, although I heard that it wasn't memorable Maddin. Man oh man, this movie blows. Unnecessary nudity, awkwardness abounding and sub par acting furnish everything. Nice to see Maddin's jarring visuals, but nearly everything else about this film falls embarrassingly short. None of the characteristic verbal flair that is typical of the Maddin, Tolles team is exhibited. Disappointing.

This is the film with the essence of Eraserhead it's like watching a dream inside a dream of a dream, it's a very intriguing movie you just have to clear your head and let it flow through the movie, my only complaint would be the sudden ending leaving the watcher interpet their own thoughts and meanings.

Guy Maddin's films are on the weird side like lynch or cronenberg but they hold their own. This film is not too weird but it has its moments. Great performances by Jason Patric and Isabella Rossallini. If you are a fan of his work check it out.

Like watching a Humphrey Bogart film on some sort of delirium inducing drug.

Everything as described. Plus a five star quality movie :)

This is highly experimental and will definitely not be to everyone's taste but I loved it. It is humorous, somewhat insane and very well done overall. Highly recommend to fans of Guy Maddins' work.

very experimental and visually creative. Difficult to understand the narrative, but the dreamlike visuals make up for it

This is a great film!