The Saddest Music in the World
Encyclopedia
The Saddest Music in the World is a 2003 Canadian film directed by Guy Maddin
. It stars Mark McKinney
, Isabella Rossellini
, Maria de Medeiros
, David Fox and Ross McMillan.
Set in Winnipeg, Manitoba during the Great Depression
, it is a comic musical
about a competition announced by a beer magnate to find the saddest piece of music in the world. Musicians from across the world come to Winnipeg to try their luck in the competition, but the contest eventually boils down to a battle within one family: a patriotic Canadian father and his expatriate sons, one of whom represents the United States, the other Serbia
.
, Canada, an old fortune teller is predicting the future for Chester Kent (Mark McKinney
), a failing Broadway
producer, and his nymphomaniac amnesiac
girlfriend Narcissa (Maria de Medeiros
). The fortune teller predicts doom, but Chester laughs it off, and rides a train into Winnipeg.
The baroness Helen, Lady Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini
) announces a competition to find the saddest music in the world; she hopes that the competition will raise the sales of her beer, especially since Prohibition
is about to end. Chester decides to enter the contest representing America. It emerges that Lady Port-Huntley, who has no legs, was once Chester's lover; and saying that "of all the people in the world, you know the least about grief", she orders him to try to make her cry by retelling how she lost her legs. It emerges that his dad Fyodor Kent (David Fox) was also in love with her. After she left him, Fyodor became an alcoholic. One day as they were driving as Helen performs oral sex
on Chester, they crashed into Fyodor's car, and Helen's left leg was trapped in the wreckage. A drunken Fyodor, determined to save and marry his beloved, amputated her leg but removed the wrong one accidentally. In the present, Lady Port-Huntley tells Chester he can try, but she doesn't think he'll succeed. Fyodor also shows up and enters the contest to represent Canada.
Musicians are streaming into Winnipeg, including Roderick Kent (Ross McMillan), representing Serbia
. Roderick is swathed in mourning and hypochondria
, because his young son died and his wife is missing. As soon as he arrives, he and Chester begin grating on each other. A sober Fyodor also reveals that he has been making prosthetic legs for Helen to atone for his tragic mistake. She's allergic to wood and leather, so he uses glass ones, and fills them with her brand of beer.
The contest begins, with various countries pitted against each other. Fyodor's melodramatic piano ballad is soon defeated, but Chester's glitzy "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
" act wins over the audience. Unfortunately Roderick sees Narcissa singing from a swinging seat, and collapses in horror realizing it's his wife singing. Roderick manages to do his act, and defeats everyone with his heartbreaking cello
music. After, Roderick gives his father's glass legs to Lady Port-Huntley, who is able to walk for the first time in years. Overjoyed, she reunites with Chester, but when Fyodor begs her for forgiveness, she refuses to give it. Shattered, Fyodor returns to drinking, and on falls through the glass ceiling into a pool of beer and dies.
Meanwhile, Roderick has reunited with his wife; since Narcissa doesn't remember him or their son, however, she simply regards him as a one-night stand, and sings a tragic love song as if it were a showtune. Roderick accidentally drops a jar containing his dead son's heart, and it shatters.
Roderick becomes determined to defeat his brother, and plays his most plaintive music ever, while Chester manipulates the audience with his showtunes, often buying out other countries he's defeated in the contest to "join America" in his performance. Soon the brothers are the only ones left in the competition, and Lady Port-Huntley — with her glass legs — is part of Chester's final act. But a few jagged notes from Roderick's cello are enough to spring leaks in the glass, and the legs collapse. Horrified and humiliated, she orders her gigolo to carry her back to her office.
Roderick plays his most tragic piece, and Narcissa sings sadly to it as her memories return. Chester goes to comfort Helen, but she stabs him with a giant piece of glass from her shattered legs. The bleeding Chester staggers out smoking a cigar, dropping a match in a puddle of spilled beer. Soon the entire building goes up in flames. Teddy rescues Helen, and Roderick and Narcissa escape. Chester staggers to a piano and plays Narcissa's ballad — the saddest music in the world — as he burns in the fire.
photography, slightly out-of-sync sound and expressionist
art design. A few scenes are filmed in colour, in a manner that imitates early two-strip Technicolor
.
Maddin and co-writer George Toles completely rewrote the original screenplay by Booker Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro
. Ishiguro had set his story in a more recognizable 1980s London. Before Maddin's involvement, Atom Egoyan
was at one time signed to direct from Ishiguro's original screenplay.
"The Song Is You
" (1932) is the film's recurring musical theme. Nine different versions of the popular song by Jerome Kern
and Oscar Hammerstein II
were arranged for the film by composer Christopher Dedrick, whose work received a Genie Award
.
Directors Guild of Canada
:
Genie Awards
U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
Guy Maddin
Guy Maddin, OM is a Canadian screenwriter, director, cinematographer and film editor of both features and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba...
. It stars Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney
Mark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
, Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
, Maria de Medeiros
Maria de Medeiros
Maria de Medeiros Esteves Vitorino de Almeida, DamSE , better known as Maria de Medeiros , is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions.-Personal life:...
, David Fox and Ross McMillan.
Set in Winnipeg, Manitoba during the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, it is a comic musical
Musical film
The musical film is a film genre in which songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative, sometimes accompanied by dancing. The songs usually advance the plot or develop the film's characters, though in some cases they serve merely as breaks in the storyline, often as elaborate...
about a competition announced by a beer magnate to find the saddest piece of music in the world. Musicians from across the world come to Winnipeg to try their luck in the competition, but the contest eventually boils down to a battle within one family: a patriotic Canadian father and his expatriate sons, one of whom represents the United States, the other Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
.
Plot
During the Great depression in 1933 in WinnipegWinnipeg
Winnipeg is the capital and largest city of Manitoba, Canada, and is the primary municipality of the Winnipeg Capital Region, with more than half of Manitoba's population. It is located near the longitudinal centre of North America, at the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers .The name...
, Canada, an old fortune teller is predicting the future for Chester Kent (Mark McKinney
Mark McKinney
Mark Douglas Brown McKinney is a Canadian comedian and actor, best known for his work in the sketch comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall. Following the run of their television series and feature film , he went on to star in Saturday Night Live from 1995 to 1997...
), a failing Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
producer, and his nymphomaniac amnesiac
Amnesiac
Amnesiac was generally well-received by critics. It was also ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. The Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll ranked it number 6 on their top 10 albums of the year. Alternative Press declared it the #1 album of the year...
girlfriend Narcissa (Maria de Medeiros
Maria de Medeiros
Maria de Medeiros Esteves Vitorino de Almeida, DamSE , better known as Maria de Medeiros , is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film productions.-Personal life:...
). The fortune teller predicts doom, but Chester laughs it off, and rides a train into Winnipeg.
The baroness Helen, Lady Port-Huntley (Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Rossellini
Isabella Fiorella Elettra Giovanna Rossellini is an Italian actress, filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model. Rossellini is noted for her 14-year tenure as a Lancôme model, and for her roles in films such as Blue Velvet and Death Becomes Her.-Background and early life:Rossellini is a...
) announces a competition to find the saddest music in the world; she hopes that the competition will raise the sales of her beer, especially since Prohibition
Prohibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
is about to end. Chester decides to enter the contest representing America. It emerges that Lady Port-Huntley, who has no legs, was once Chester's lover; and saying that "of all the people in the world, you know the least about grief", she orders him to try to make her cry by retelling how she lost her legs. It emerges that his dad Fyodor Kent (David Fox) was also in love with her. After she left him, Fyodor became an alcoholic. One day as they were driving as Helen performs oral sex
Oral sex
Oral sex is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a sex partner by the use of the mouth, tongue, teeth or throat. Cunnilingus refers to oral sex performed on females while fellatio refer to oral sex performed on males. Anilingus refers to oral stimulation of a person's anus...
on Chester, they crashed into Fyodor's car, and Helen's left leg was trapped in the wreckage. A drunken Fyodor, determined to save and marry his beloved, amputated her leg but removed the wrong one accidentally. In the present, Lady Port-Huntley tells Chester he can try, but she doesn't think he'll succeed. Fyodor also shows up and enters the contest to represent Canada.
Musicians are streaming into Winnipeg, including Roderick Kent (Ross McMillan), representing Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
. Roderick is swathed in mourning and hypochondria
Hypochondria
Hypochondriasis or hypochondria refers to excessive preoccupation or worry about having a serious illness. This debilitating condition is the result of an inaccurate perception of the body’s condition despite the absence of an actual medication condition...
, because his young son died and his wife is missing. As soon as he arrives, he and Chester begin grating on each other. A sober Fyodor also reveals that he has been making prosthetic legs for Helen to atone for his tragic mistake. She's allergic to wood and leather, so he uses glass ones, and fills them with her brand of beer.
The contest begins, with various countries pitted against each other. Fyodor's melodramatic piano ballad is soon defeated, but Chester's glitzy "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
"Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is a historic African-American spiritual. The first recording was in 1909, by the Fisk Jubilee Singers of Fisk University....
" act wins over the audience. Unfortunately Roderick sees Narcissa singing from a swinging seat, and collapses in horror realizing it's his wife singing. Roderick manages to do his act, and defeats everyone with his heartbreaking cello
Cello
The cello is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is a member of the violin family of musical instruments, which also includes the violin, viola, and double bass. Old forms of the instrument in the Baroque era are baryton and viol .A person who plays a cello is...
music. After, Roderick gives his father's glass legs to Lady Port-Huntley, who is able to walk for the first time in years. Overjoyed, she reunites with Chester, but when Fyodor begs her for forgiveness, she refuses to give it. Shattered, Fyodor returns to drinking, and on falls through the glass ceiling into a pool of beer and dies.
Meanwhile, Roderick has reunited with his wife; since Narcissa doesn't remember him or their son, however, she simply regards him as a one-night stand, and sings a tragic love song as if it were a showtune. Roderick accidentally drops a jar containing his dead son's heart, and it shatters.
Roderick becomes determined to defeat his brother, and plays his most plaintive music ever, while Chester manipulates the audience with his showtunes, often buying out other countries he's defeated in the contest to "join America" in his performance. Soon the brothers are the only ones left in the competition, and Lady Port-Huntley — with her glass legs — is part of Chester's final act. But a few jagged notes from Roderick's cello are enough to spring leaks in the glass, and the legs collapse. Horrified and humiliated, she orders her gigolo to carry her back to her office.
Roderick plays his most tragic piece, and Narcissa sings sadly to it as her memories return. Chester goes to comfort Helen, but she stabs him with a giant piece of glass from her shattered legs. The bleeding Chester staggers out smoking a cigar, dropping a match in a puddle of spilled beer. Soon the entire building goes up in flames. Teddy rescues Helen, and Roderick and Narcissa escape. Chester staggers to a piano and plays Narcissa's ballad — the saddest music in the world — as he burns in the fire.
Cast
- Chester Kent: An arrogant, washed up BroadwayBroadway theatreBroadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
producer, he proudly announces that he's never cried, has no pity and has no shame about anything in his life. Years ago he was Lady Port-Huntley's lover, but is currently having an affair with a nymphomaniac amnesiaAmnesiaAmnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c named Narcissa. This character's name is borrowed from film history: James CagneyJames CagneyJames Francis Cagney, Jr. was an American actor, first on stage, then in film, where he had his greatest impact. Although he won acclaim and major awards for a wide variety of performances, he is best remembered for playing "tough guys." In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked him eighth...
's character's name in the Busby BerkeleyBusby BerkeleyBusby Berkeley was a highly influential Hollywood movie director and musical choreographer. Berkeley was famous for his elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geometric patterns...
musical film Footlight ParadeFootlight Parade-Cast:*James Cagney as Chester Kent, creator of musical prologues*Joan Blondell as Nan Prescott, his secretary*Ruby Keeler as Bea Thorn, dancer turned secretary turned dancer*Dick Powell as Scott 'Scotty' Blair, juvenile lead, former protege of Mrs...
(1932) was "Chester Kent".
- Helen, Lady Port-Huntley: A strong-willed beer baroness, who wears exotic makeup, a platinum blonde wig, and opulent clothing. Both of her legs were amputated at mid-thigh, which made her bitter and angry. She wheels herself around on a little furry dolly, with a pair of sticks to steer herself. Lady Port-Huntley dedicates her life to making "obscene amounts of money", and has loveless sex with her servant Teddy.
- Roderick Kent: Chester's morbid, guilt-ridden brother. Roderick is a hypochondriac, who can't stand noise or bright light, and hates to be touched by anyone but Narcissa. He wears an enormous hat and veil, which he doesn't remove even when playing the cello. Roderick went to SerbiaSerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and married the beautiful Narcissa. They had one child who died at a young age. Roderick blames himself for the boy's death, and carries his heart around in a jar preserved with his own tears. Roderick enters Lady Port-Huntley's contest in the name of Serbia.
- Fyodor Kent: Fyodor is a former doctor, bus driver, and a lifelong music-lover, as well as a patriotic veteran of World War I (he wears his LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
's uniform for a performance). Fyodor is the father of Roderick and Chester. As his wife has died when the boys were young, he became an alcoholic. Fyodor is madly in love with Lady Port-Huntley. When trying to save her from a horrible car accident, he accidentally cuts off her leg in a drunken state. Fyodor enters the contest in the name of Canada.
- Narcissa: An amnesiaAmnesiaAmnesia is a condition in which one's memory is lost. The causes of amnesia have traditionally been divided into categories. Memory appears to be stored in several parts of the limbic system of the brain, and any condition that interferes with the function of this system can cause amnesia...
c nymphomaniac from Serbia, she married Roderick some years ago, and the two had one child. But when her boy died, Narcissa's memory slowly vanished until she wandered away, unable to remember anything but her name. Narcissa eventually got involved with Chester Kent, she claims to have a tape worm inside her that gives her advice.
- Teddy: Helen's hired sex toy. Teddy is a handsome young man who has a wife and two children but because of the Great DepressionGreat DepressionThe Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, he has to have sex with Helen whenever she wants, to keep his job. Teddy is deeply ashamed and miserable about this, and does his duties without any signs of enjoyment.
- Medicine Man: A wizened old blind man, wearing an antlered hat and living in an iglooIglooAn igloo or snowhouse is a type of shelter built of snow, originally built by the Inuit....
. He tells Chester his fortune but is laughed at when he predicts potential doom. Chester also seems to believe the medicine man is an old Gypsy woman.
Production
Like most of Guy Maddin's films, The Saddest Music in the World is filmed in a style that imitates late 1920s and early 1930s cinema, with grainy black-and-whiteBlack-and-white
Black-and-white, often abbreviated B/W or B&W, is a term referring to a number of monochrome forms in visual arts.Black-and-white as a description is also something of a misnomer, for in addition to black and white, most of these media included varying shades of gray...
photography, slightly out-of-sync sound and expressionist
German Expressionism
German Expressionism refers to a number of related creative movements beginning in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin, during the 1920s...
art design. A few scenes are filmed in colour, in a manner that imitates early two-strip Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
.
Maddin and co-writer George Toles completely rewrote the original screenplay by Booker Prize-winning author Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro OBE or ; born 8 November 1954) is a Japanese–English novelist. He was born in Nagasaki, Japan, and his family moved to England in 1960. Ishiguro obtained his Bachelor's degree from University of Kent in 1978 and his Master's from the University of East Anglia's creative writing...
. Ishiguro had set his story in a more recognizable 1980s London. Before Maddin's involvement, Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan
Atom Egoyan, OC is a critically acclaimed Armenian-Canadian stage director and film director. Egoyan made his career breakthrough with Exotica...
was at one time signed to direct from Ishiguro's original screenplay.
"The Song Is You
The Song Is You (song)
"The Song Is You" is a popular song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was written for their musical Music in the Air and sung in that show by Tullio Carminati. In later years the song became often associated with Frank Sinatra."The Song Is You" is the recurring...
" (1932) is the film's recurring musical theme. Nine different versions of the popular song by Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
and Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Hammerstein II
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American librettist, theatrical producer, and theatre director of musicals for almost forty years. Hammerstein won eight Tony Awards and was twice awarded an Academy Award for "Best Original Song". Many of his songs are standard repertoire for...
were arranged for the film by composer Christopher Dedrick, whose work received a Genie Award
Genie Award for Best Achievement in Music - Original Score
The Genie Award for Best Achievement in Music - Original Score is awarded by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to the best Canadian original score.-1st Genie Awards:* Carl Zittrer, Paul Zaza,Murder By Decree...
.
Awards and honors
Chlotrudis Awards:- Win: Best Adapted Screenplay - Guy Maddin and George Toles
- Nominated: Best Director - Guy Maddin
- Nominated: Best Actress - Isabella Rossellini
Directors Guild of Canada
Directors Guild of Canada
The Directors Guild of Canada is a Canadian labour union, founded in 1962, which represents more than 3,700 professionals from 48 different occupations in the Canadian film and television industry. The DGC represents directors, assistant directors, location managers, production assistants and...
:
- Win: Outstanding Achievement in Production Design, Feature Film - Matthew Davies
- Nominated: Outstanding Achievement in Direction, Feature Film - Guy Maddin
- Nominated: Outstanding Achievement in Picture Editing, Feature Film - David Wharnsby
Genie Awards
- Win: Best Achievement in Costume Design - Meg McMillan
- Win: Best Achievement in Editing - David Wharnsby
- Win: Best Achievement in Music, Original Score - Christopher Dedrick
- Nominated: Best Achievement in Direction - Guy Maddin
U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
U.S. Comedy Arts Festival
The Comedy Festival, formerly known as the US Comedy Arts Festival, is a comedy festival held each year in Las Vegas, Nevada. From its 1985 inception to 2007, it was held annually at the Wheeler Opera House in Aspen, Colorado...
- Win: Film Discovery Jury Award, Best Director - Guy Maddin