Part of Maddin's "mystical hypothesizing" in My Winnipeg is the crazy, macabre myth he concocts about the frozen horse heads at The Forks (where the Red and Assiniboine Rivers meet in the centre of Winnipeg).
It is one of my favourite scenes in the whole movie. It is SO Winnipeg.
It's a perfect example of how mythology always employs untruths to express deeper truths. In Maddin's satirical hands, the "ice-and-horse jam" morphs from a scene of horror and terror into a benign excuse for a Sunday afternoon outing, as hardy and resourceful Winnipeggers adapt, as always, to their harsh surroundings.
Or are they just sleepwalking again in the snowy city? "We grow used to the sadness. Simply incorporate it into our days."
Either way, if that doesn't say it all about Winnipeg, I don't know what does.
Tomorrow's Post: The Black Tuesdays
18 comments:
You know I'm a bit thick. If I understood what this Canadian thing was all about I'd try to join in but I don't quite get what I'm meant to do! :D Sorry.
It looks like the horses will spring to life again when the ice melts. Amazing scene!
Holy crap! Mesmerizing. And slightly eerie.
I love the macabre - A great way to start my week-end
the Ol'Buzzard
This piece is amazing!
I've had to visit a few of your previous posts so that I could get the whole Canadian Blogathon thingy. A great idea.
Those horses are mesmerizing! Have a great weekend :D
even with all the snow, at least Canadians aren't as gloomy, dark and scary as Vikings and Finnish people :) Their folklore is like horror movie heavy metal opera
I think I'm going to have to agree with Dezmond! The Finnish / Viking legends are dark, typically involve death, hauntings and some kind of blood ritual
Love it!
I so need to visit Winnipeg after seeing this.
Amazing ..a little creepy..Pretty cool though..Enjoy your weekend
Romantic rambles? Ohhhhhhhhh noooooooo. Poor horses.
I never heard anything about this!!! Wow, creepy!! I really have to watch this film! Thanks again Debra for doing these posts! Learning interesting things about our country!
Did you know that Neil Young has been awarded the Order of Manitoba? AND the Order of Canada! My goodness how people prosper when they escape the Peg! Just kidding, who'd want to get away? I have no evidence of this, but I suspect that every song Neil Young has written about Prairies and Wide Open Spaces originates in the landscape of central Canada.
@ e -- He's a proud Son of The Peg alright!
Love the icy creepiness.
I don't think I have ever more fervently wished to have been born a Canadian!
The picture of the horses is beyond creepy but Madden certainly has a knack for telling a story. He let's the reader decide what is fact and what is fiction.
Great clip, but it brought back horrible early memories of mine when the race track burned down in Charlottetown. In a way that's a good thing, because it overlays my scary memories with worse images. thanks, I think!
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