The Heart of the World2000

On another Earth, in a mirror Universe, "The Heart of the World" was made in 1925 by Sergei Eisenstein's young cousin, Igor. This film arrived on our world through the great alchemist and world-walker, Guy Maddin. In less than 7 minutes, Maddin puts the pedal to the metal and delivers a Sci-Fi fable with enough action and plot twists for a feature-length motion picture. Like all of Maddin's best work, "The Heart of the World" dances back and forth between homage and parody without ever missing a step. It's a madcap little romp that ends on a pure and profound note. Long live Kino!

Two brothers (Caelum Vatnsdal, Shaun Balbar) love the same woman (Leslie Bais) in an insanely frenetic paced fan letter to silent-era Russian cinema that mostly looks the part, the only thing pointing to its true age is the speed of the cutting in each scene.

The grasp of science is perfectly in keeping with other films an publications of the time, notably A Trip to the Moon (1902) which regularly sprung to mind throughout, but also the framing of the 'dark horse' industrialist is also perfect for the Soviet mindset too.

Clocking in at a breezy 7 minutes, this manages to get in as much of the woefully plodding three hour plus extravaganzas that now plague the multiplexes around the world leaving behind a very sweet aftertaste.

The greatest of Guy Maddin's short-form efforts. There's more fully realized ambition in 7 minutes than most directors (including himself) typically realize in ten times the duration.

Brilliant! The finale got me laughing out loud, which doesn't ALWAYS happen during avant-garde short films.

An amazing tour de force of Guy, compressed into a mind bending 6 minutes of 4th dimensional subtext.

Thrilling! The lighting is beautiful & even comforting against the sound track. Love Maddin!