The Forbidden Room

Facebook
X
Threads
Reddit
The Forbidden Room (2015)
Runtime:130 minutes
Country:Canada
Actors:
Marv / Smithy / Mars / Organizer / Mr. Lanyon
Count Yugh / The Butler / The Dead Father / Guard / Pharmacist
Jarvis / Dr. Deane / A Husband
Thadeusz M___ / Ostler
Wolf / Pilot / The Captain
The Master Passion / Nursemaid / Aunt Chance
Dr. Deng / Speedy
Genres:Comedy, Mystery
Writers:
(writer) &
(writer) &
(writer) (as Robert Kotyk)
(poetry)
(additional writer)
(story editor)
Production companies:
Phi
 
(line producer)
Plots:
In this non-linear amalgamation, submarine crewmen and a woodsman wend their way through a voyage of odd experiences.
Trailers: The Forbidden Room
theforbiddenroom

Guy Maddin and co-director Evan Johnson embark on a surreal cinematic journey in . A series of interconnected narratives tells stories inspired by forgotten genres from cinema’s past. Over the course of this increasingly weird and surreal journey, a number of familiar faces show up, including Mathieu Amalric, , Udo Kier, and Guy Maddin regular Louis Negin.

Known for his somewhat unusual odes to classic cinema, such as The Saddest Music in the World, My Winnipeg, and Keyhole, Guy Maddin returns with what is probably his most incoherent and weird film yet. He is joined by first time director Evan Johnson, who previously worked as a camera operator on My Winnipeg. The Forbidden Door takes many different narratives and film genres and scrambles them together, including a crew aboard a submarine, a woodsman trying to save a damsel in distress, and a thief who steals squids, which is a crime punishable by death.

It quickly becomes apparent that The Forbidden Room is more a film to experience, rather than to fully understand. The film reaches its peak fairly early on, during a musical sequence, featuring a song entitled “The Final Derriere,” performed by the band Sparks. Like the accordion scene in Holy Motors, this is a sequence where the The Forbidden Room really becomes quite enjoyable. Sadly, at just under two hours in length, The Forbidden Room is way too long for what it is and it quickly becomes apparent that the film is more interested in its stunt casting than a cohesive narrative. Altogether, The Forbidden Room ends up being a very weird, incoherent mess of cinematic non-sequiturs.

 ★ ★ 1/2 |  INDIFFERENT 

Screenings:

  • Friday, September 18, 3:15 PM – AGO Jackman Hall
Advertisement

💳 Earn a $750 Amazon Reward!

Answer a few quick questions, explore personalized deals, and earn your reward! Complete the offers that interest you—cash out as a gift card, PayPal, or direct deposit. Over $20M in rewards already paid out!

Start earning today

👉 Claim Your Reward Now

More reviews

Flow

An unlikely group of animals gather on board a boat to protect themselves from a massive flood in Flow. A lone black

The Heirloom

The Heirloom

A young couple have to adjust after adopting a rescued dog in The Heirloom. Eric (Ben Petrie) is a workaholic filmmaker, who

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Scroll to Top

Thanks for Reading

Support This Site

If you like what I do please support me on Ko-fi

Other Ways to Support Us

Become a patron at Patreon!
Buy Me A Coffee