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DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN'S DIARY SATURDAY 1 NOVEMBER AT 5:10PM UGC SHAFTESBURY AVE SCREEN 1
Commissioned to adapt Mark Godden's Royal Winnipeg Ballet of the same name, this is probably the most entertaining approach to the Dracula story. Guy Madden, darling of the Canadian indie scene, delivers a black and white (with the occasional saturated red) neo-silent version, downplaying the element of dance to wonderful effect. Dracula himself is played wonderfully by Wei-Qiang Zhang, referred to explicitly in the opening scenes of the film as an 'Other' that invades from the East (for added effect, his blood literally crawls across a map of the world from Asia to Europe). The tale is told in the usual manner of vampire tales, Dracula going about despoiling virginal women. Yet Madden fetishises these virgins by making them fiercely independent and hungry for cock, and creates some indelible scenes such as when Dracula dances with Lucy (Tara Birtwhistle) in a gentle snowfall, lifting her through graveyard mists. There is no doubt that the film is very strange, and it is almost impossible to categorise. Yet this is its strength - for if it is fair to say that a good film always get us thinking, there is no doubt that this unique artistic effort will linger in the mind for a good while after the end credits. OH Guy Maddin has made several short and long films, and in 1995 (as the youngest ever) he was awarded a Telluride medal for Life-time Achievement, an honour he shares with Francis Ford Coppola, Gloria Swanson and Leni Riefenstahl. He is renowned for his strong aesthetical interest for movies from the beginning of the 20th century. ENCHANTEMENT UK | 12 mins | Dir/S'play Simon Aboud Prod Kate Woodall DoP Haris Zambarloukos Cast Helena Christenson, Jerry Hall, Liberty Ross, Kate Moss, Stella McCartneyP/S Believe Media E info.london@believemedia.com A film for the FrostFrench autumn/winter 2003 collection set in a circus tent. |
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