This Blog is Now All Maya, All Movies

Hope you guys don’t mind. Anyway, I caught Tideland during its ONE WEEK run at the Music Box. That’s right, Terry Gilliam pissed off enough people to secure a one week run in a major city. Oh well.
I swore long ago never to let negative reviews keep me from the theater… actually, I made that vow after seeing Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, falling in love with it, and then reading a torrent of scathing reviews. Terry Gilliam is a very individualistic director with a finely-tuned vision that not many critics can appreciate. Tideland is around 10% on the Tomatometer right now.** I read a lot of reviews and prepared myself to be disturbed and depressed, but was completely surprised to discover that this movie was actually pretty funny. It’s bleak, but the main character is so irrepressible and delightful that she carries you past the hideous things happening all around her. I don’t know how he did it, but Terry Gilliam nailed the internal monologues of creative little girls (including the bizarre hierarchies their dolls are subject to). I can see why this movie made a lot of people upset, but it’s not nearly as graphic as your average PG-13 film. It’s sort of a gothic horror movie seen through the eyes of a little girl who doesn’t realize she’s trapped in a horror movie. Every day when you’re little is a new adventure – remember how every muddy little stream is a torrential river in your imaginary world, and abandoned houses are amusing enough to play in for an entire day? I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film that captures that feeling so perfectly. Terry Gilliam deserves praise for this film. And the lead actress is unbelievable – I’d take her over 50 Dakota Fannings.
It’s also interesting that two films in the theater right now specifically deal with the ability of imagination to transcend real life (Tideland and that Science-y movie with Gael Garcia). Yay for movies that are art, and not just mindless entertainment!

** Note: This movie was at 10% last time I checked, one day ago – now it bumped up to a 28%. Well done!