Twilight of the Ice Nymphs (1997)

Synopsis: A political prisoner is returning to his Mandragoran home when he embarks on a passionate affair with a young woman. Upon reaching Mandragora, a dreamlike world within the film, this prodigal son... A political prisoner is returning to his Mandragoran home when he embarks on a passionate affair with a young woman. Upon reaching Mandragora, a dreamlike world within the film, this prodigal son witnesses passion become madness from an ostrich farmer (Shelley Duvall), a fisherman's widow (Alice Krige), a mesmerist (R.H. Thomson), and handyman Cain Ball (Frank Gorshin) who soon has a nail driven through his head. The prisoner's desire grows greater for the beauty he met on his travels, as he approaches this state of mad love that plagues Mandragora. Love, myth, and homicidal madness mix in this twisted creation from the fertile mind of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin (CAREFUL). The narrative is part PETER PAN, part David Lynch. The dialogue is purposefully archaic (Maddin has employed the technique of having his dialogue translated into a rare Norweigan tongue only to have it translated back into English to obtain a certain stilted style of speaking). Yet Maddin's films are all his own with their expressionistic look, mythical dreamscapes, and campy humor. [More]

Starring: Shelley Duvall, Frank Gorshin, Pascale Bussieres, Alice Krige

Starring: Shelley Duvall, Frank Gorshin, Pascale Bussieres, Alice Krige, R.H. Thomson

Director: Guy Maddin

Director: Guy Maddin
Screenwriter: Guy Maddin
Producer: Robert Lantos, Richard Findlay

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