Saturday 4 February 2017

O Canada! Blogathon 2017 -- "My Winnipeg," Part 2

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:

LL Cool Joe said...

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.

Marie Smith said...

It looks like the horses will spring to life again when the ice melts. Amazing scene!

Martha said...

Holy crap! Mesmerizing. And slightly eerie.

Ol'Buzzard said...

I love the macabre - A great way to start my week-end
the Ol'Buzzard

Miss Val's Creations said...

This piece is amazing!

Neesie said...

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

DEZMOND said...

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

AntiquityTravelers said...

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

Fearsome Beard said...

Love it!
I so need to visit Winnipeg after seeing this.

This N That said...

Amazing ..a little creepy..Pretty cool though..Enjoy your weekend

The Happy Whisk said...

Romantic rambles? Ohhhhhhhhh noooooooo. Poor horses.

Magic Love Crow said...

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!

e said...

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.

Debra She Who Seeks said...

@ e -- He's a proud Son of The Peg alright!

Magaly Guerrero said...

Love the icy creepiness.

Riot Kitty said...

I don't think I have ever more fervently wished to have been born a Canadian!

Cperz said...

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.

Fundy Blue said...

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!