I can't quite remember where I first heard of Terry Gilliams latest movie, Tideland. It may have been while reading something about Mr Gilliam, but it was most likely through looking at what else Jodelle Ferland was in after seeing the Silent Hill movie. Silent Hill being the only video games series I really look forward to anymore.
I didn't think Jodelle Ferland was all that good in Silent Hill, but then I don't think she had much to work with as far as character depth. But she's amazing in Tideland.
I saw the Tideland trailer about 6 months before I finally got to see the entire thing. I watched the trailer a couple of times, not once did it remind me of Alice in Wonderland. But then I went through yet another one of my Alice in Wonderland love affairs a week or so before I stumbled upon Tideland. This time finding different versions and adaptations in book form, instead of movies, which is what I did last time. I think I was first introduced to Alice by Disney's animated film back when I was extremely young. It still shocks me when I'm reminded that it came out in 1951, 30 years before existed.
So 10 minutes before I press play on Tideland, I suddenly think, I wonder if this is going to be anything like Alice's Adventures In Wonderland? All I knew was it was about a little girl in a weird place. The movie starts and low and behold, the first words spoken by Ms Ferland are from Lewis Carroll's famous book. The film then goes on to directly refer to it many times.
Tideland isn't a modern retelling of Alice, its ultimately nothing like it, it just nods to it about every 10 minutes. Jodelle Ferland plays Jeliza-Rose, a little girl who is most definitely in the real world. She sees strange, wonderland things, but these are almost always in her imagination, which is fueled by lack of food at one point. Alice in Wonderland can be read as a child playing make believe with her toys, this is exactly what Jeliza-Rose does through this entire film.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is at present my favorite movie of all time. Tideland starts off a lot like this, it depicts a horrible life in such a colourful fun way, that you don't feel depressed or sorry for the poor drug induced losers. Fear and Loathing pretty much continues like that to the end, but Tideland gradually gets more dark.
In Tideland, there are some quite disturbing things. Jeliza-Rose's poor father's existence in this film ripped me away from my preconceptions that this was going to be like a Disney flick. I then felt sorry for Jeliza-Rose, but then realized that this film is about her innocence, not ours. She never understands what life and death really is. You'll know what I mean when you see it. As you can see, I'm not very good at writing reviews.
And then there's the sexual bits, I guess you could call them that. Even after Terry Gilliam reveals that this is no fairly tale, I didn't expect a love interest between a 12 year old girl and a brain damaged 25 year old man to pop up. I'm betting some readers are thinking this is some sick twisted flick now. I'll tell you something, this film has changed me. It's made me realize that I'm a tainted, dirty person. Some like me, and other preachy religious types, will probably feel icky watching these scenes. Actually no, religious god fearing people will be angry and disgraced by Tideland, and most likely pointlessly complain. I, on the other hand, wished that I could watch these touching moments without thinking about paedos every 5 seconds. I live in a world where I see terrible things on the news every day, and innocence is a distant thing. Try to watch this movie through fresh eyes.
Brendan Fletcher is Dickens, a young man who had some kind of operation on his brain. It leaves him damaged, with the IQ of I guess about a 9 year old. The second half of the film becomes pretty much all about Dickens and Jeliza-Rose' friendship. An extremely early affection between them begins, one that neither of them understands anything about. They are so totally clueless as to what love or sexuality is. I kept expecting the film to take a third dive into darker grounds with this, but it never does. Don't think it will, it tarnished it for me.
I love Tideland, It's damn good. I thought A Scanner Darkly was going to be my favorite film of last year, but Tideland has taken it's place. It exceeded my expectations. Tideland is a work of genius. Ciao.
AFTER I READ OTHER REVIEWS
Rottemtomatoes.com has it at 25%, I've never been so shocked by reviews, they hate it! Their comments make no sense to me, it's like they watched a different film. You know what, whatever, they're idiots. They are entitled to their own opinions, no matter how wrong they are.
In my opinion, there's only one tiny thing wrong in this film. When the main girl puts on her imaginary friends voices, it's not always easy to understand what she's saying, but apart from that, it's a fantastic experience.
I didn't think Jodelle Ferland was all that good in Silent Hill, but then I don't think she had much to work with as far as character depth. But she's amazing in Tideland.
I saw the Tideland trailer about 6 months before I finally got to see the entire thing. I watched the trailer a couple of times, not once did it remind me of Alice in Wonderland. But then I went through yet another one of my Alice in Wonderland love affairs a week or so before I stumbled upon Tideland. This time finding different versions and adaptations in book form, instead of movies, which is what I did last time. I think I was first introduced to Alice by Disney's animated film back when I was extremely young. It still shocks me when I'm reminded that it came out in 1951, 30 years before existed.
So 10 minutes before I press play on Tideland, I suddenly think, I wonder if this is going to be anything like Alice's Adventures In Wonderland? All I knew was it was about a little girl in a weird place. The movie starts and low and behold, the first words spoken by Ms Ferland are from Lewis Carroll's famous book. The film then goes on to directly refer to it many times.
Tideland isn't a modern retelling of Alice, its ultimately nothing like it, it just nods to it about every 10 minutes. Jodelle Ferland plays Jeliza-Rose, a little girl who is most definitely in the real world. She sees strange, wonderland things, but these are almost always in her imagination, which is fueled by lack of food at one point. Alice in Wonderland can be read as a child playing make believe with her toys, this is exactly what Jeliza-Rose does through this entire film.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas is at present my favorite movie of all time. Tideland starts off a lot like this, it depicts a horrible life in such a colourful fun way, that you don't feel depressed or sorry for the poor drug induced losers. Fear and Loathing pretty much continues like that to the end, but Tideland gradually gets more dark.
In Tideland, there are some quite disturbing things. Jeliza-Rose's poor father's existence in this film ripped me away from my preconceptions that this was going to be like a Disney flick. I then felt sorry for Jeliza-Rose, but then realized that this film is about her innocence, not ours. She never understands what life and death really is. You'll know what I mean when you see it. As you can see, I'm not very good at writing reviews.
And then there's the sexual bits, I guess you could call them that. Even after Terry Gilliam reveals that this is no fairly tale, I didn't expect a love interest between a 12 year old girl and a brain damaged 25 year old man to pop up. I'm betting some readers are thinking this is some sick twisted flick now. I'll tell you something, this film has changed me. It's made me realize that I'm a tainted, dirty person. Some like me, and other preachy religious types, will probably feel icky watching these scenes. Actually no, religious god fearing people will be angry and disgraced by Tideland, and most likely pointlessly complain. I, on the other hand, wished that I could watch these touching moments without thinking about paedos every 5 seconds. I live in a world where I see terrible things on the news every day, and innocence is a distant thing. Try to watch this movie through fresh eyes.
Brendan Fletcher is Dickens, a young man who had some kind of operation on his brain. It leaves him damaged, with the IQ of I guess about a 9 year old. The second half of the film becomes pretty much all about Dickens and Jeliza-Rose' friendship. An extremely early affection between them begins, one that neither of them understands anything about. They are so totally clueless as to what love or sexuality is. I kept expecting the film to take a third dive into darker grounds with this, but it never does. Don't think it will, it tarnished it for me.
I love Tideland, It's damn good. I thought A Scanner Darkly was going to be my favorite film of last year, but Tideland has taken it's place. It exceeded my expectations. Tideland is a work of genius. Ciao.
AFTER I READ OTHER REVIEWS
Rottemtomatoes.com has it at 25%, I've never been so shocked by reviews, they hate it! Their comments make no sense to me, it's like they watched a different film. You know what, whatever, they're idiots. They are entitled to their own opinions, no matter how wrong they are.
In my opinion, there's only one tiny thing wrong in this film. When the main girl puts on her imaginary friends voices, it's not always easy to understand what she's saying, but apart from that, it's a fantastic experience.
The Squirrels made it seem less lonely
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