88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
A funny, strange and wondrous little film. [31 May 1988]
Tales from the Gimli Hospital
Critic Rating
(read reviews)User Rating
- Canada
- 1988
- · 68m
Director
Guy Maddin
Cast
Kyle McCulloch,
Michael Gottli,
Angela Heck,
Margaret Anne MacLeod,
Heather Neale,
David Neale
Genre
Fantasy,
Horror
Lonely and ill Einar yearns for attention in his hospital room but cannot seem to invite any from his nurses. At his side sits Gunnar, a conversationally ebullient man who Einar blames for his loneliness. Jealousy and madness ensue, inspiring a rising tension that boils in a strange yet fabulous fashion in this dreamlike film.
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What are critics saying?
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Stephen Godfrey
A funny, strange and wondrous little film. [31 May 1988]
80
Time Out
There are moments of jaw-dropping inspiration, and many that are just impenetrably odd. But this is immensely winning for the rawness alone.
80
Time Out by Staff (Not Credited)
There are moments of jaw-dropping inspiration, and many that are just impenetrably odd. But this is immensely winning for the rawness alone.
75
Chicago Tribune by Dave Kehr
An original and insinuating black comedy from Winnipeg, Canada, where something very strange seems to be going on. The pastiche is nearly perfect, played with an utter sincerity that makes it impossible to tell just where the jokes are coming from.
75
Chicago Reader by Jonathan Rosenbaum
Whatever else you might say about this weird, creepy, and funny independent item by Guy Maddin, it's certainly different.
75
The A.V. Club by Noel Murray
The filmmaker self-consciously borrows from dozens of sources, including radio dramas, Our Gang shorts, hygiene films, school plays, stag pictures, Universal horror, ethnographic documentaries, and the indie weirdness of John Waters and David Lynch.
70
Los Angeles Times by Michael Wilmington
It's a dry, fluky comedy about the perils of immigrant communities and bad health facilities -- shot in a style that's a clever pastiche of early '30s experimental talkies. The imagery is purposely deranged and the movie pumps it out in slow, deliberate rhythms that become daffy and excruciating. [11 Sep 1989, p.6]
60
The New York Times by Stephen Holden
It is a strange piece of work.
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