Keyhole

An old house holds on to memories just like people do. Every room, every object in the house has a story to tell – about gangsters, forgotten children, and traumatic relationships. But memories must be organized every so often, the bad ones safely tucked away and the heady ones relived. Navigating the past, however, can be a tricky business, and the road to catharsis is a bumpy one indeed. In his latest film, Guy Maddin once again takes us on a trip to the subconscious with all its attendant obstacles and surprises, and he wraps his narrative in enchanting black-and-white photography that honors old-style cinematography while transforming it. The movie draws the viewer in by means of broad ambiguity but also through intoxicating visuals, in their “tainted opulence” sometimes reminiscent of the work of photographer Joel Peter Witkin. When universal emotions are involved, it hardly matters that tracing their causes is often difficult. Sometimes blatant psychology must simply yield to esthetics. (Karlovy Vary International Film Festival)