Guy Maddin is one of Canada's celebrated filmmakers even when his films are not about Canada. Maddin explores one of my favourite cities in San Francisco through found footage from TV shows and movies in The Green Fog.
The theme of the film is to loosely tell the story of Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, which was shot in San Francisco. The film can be enjoyed on its own merits though your knowledge of Vertigo, San Francisco, or both will enhance the appreciation for the film. A love for older movies will also help.
The clips used aren't from anything recently filmed in San Francisco. Pacific Heights might be the most recent film used in The Green Fog. The TV clips are dominated by the Streets of San Francisco, with Karl Malden and a young Michael Douglas, and McMillan and Wife, with Rock Hudson and Susan Saint-James.
The film has very little dialogue, often with awkward cuts, since the original dialogue would detract from the film. There is a lot of use of characters watching a clip on a TV that wasn't in the original film used by this film. There are scenes where awkward laughter is the best response. Of course, there is green fog.
The Green Fog is an intriguing take in that the footage is shot in the United States. There might be a Canadian actor here or there in one of the clips. The film could have been compiled in Canada. Maddin worked with Evan Johnson and Galen Johnson on this film as well as The Forbidden Room.
While watching the film, I wondered if someone could have fun with all the American films shot in Toronto where Toronto was supposed to be another locale. Canadians would be in on the joke while most Americans would wonder about the theme behind the clips.
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Guy Maddin is a filmmaker's filmmaker, someone who might be appreciated more by serious film students as opposed to the average filmgoer. The Green Fog might be Maddin's most accessible film. The Saddest Music in the World and My Winnipeg are also fairly approachable.
video credit: YouTube/Vancouver International Film Festival
photo credit: The Green Fog film
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