Tideland (2005)

Amazing movie. Queer, funny, shocking, extremely beautiful. Gilliam at his best again. After overproduced and hollow Grimm Bros this one is a gem. It seems, most of the gems comes from outside of US nowadays. Dark meditation on Alice in Wonderland - that's how the Tideland looks at first. You may need to wait till the very end of the film in order to understand what it's really about. The final scene is amazing. Little Jodelle Ferland (Jeliza-Rose) is superb - I can't imagine how you can make a child to LIVE the role like that, not to PLAY it! 9 stars out of 10 - if 10 stars goes to Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and 5 goes to Grimm Bros.

Fmovies: When the dysfunctional Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) dies of overdose, her daughter Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) travels with her addicted father Noah (Jeff Bridges) to the old and abandoned house of Noah's mother in the country. While her father takes "a vacation" injecting drugs, Jeliza-Rose lives a world of fantasy with her heads of doll Sateen Lips, Glitter Gal, Mustique and Baby Blonde. Noah dies in his trip, and Jeliza-Rose meets the insane Dell (Janet McTeer) and her retarded brother Dickens (Brendan Fletcher), spending most of the time together.

I do not know whether Terry Gilliam was in an acid trip when he wrote the dark, bizarre and insane "Tideland", but it is one of the craziest movies I have ever seen. However, I liked the originality of the story. I could never guess the insanity of the next scene of this unpredictable film. I was also very impressed with the maturity and performance of Jodelle Ferland in her difficult lead work. This little girl is the story, and it is amazing and impressive, for example, the sequences with Jeliza-Rose preparing the dope of her father. The nightmarish atmosphere and the music score complete this original and unique journey to the irrational world of Terry Gilliam. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Contraponto" ("Counterpoint")

Without a doubt, this is Gilliam's strongest vision since Brazil. It's also a movie that has to be seen on the big screen so don't miss it, if it comes near you.

People may find it too long, too obscene.. there are moments that are definitely hard to swallow but hey, that's our problem, not Gilliam's. Then there are moments of pure joy.

And the ending will leave you shaken to the core. It's surreal and true at the same time and it encapsulates the whole experience. Didn't read the book this was based on but from what I've heard, Gilliam is pretty much spot on.

I really need to see Tideland again soon. I really need this little vacation.

Tideland fmovies. Completely forget any review you read by Richard Roeper, because it's true crap. Tideland was a brilliant view of a child, living in her very own fantasy world. She maintains her loneliness by holding conversations with her 4 doll-head friends, as well as squirrels and her new friend, a sexually confused brother of a crazed witch lady. The movie is full of brilliant humor as well as the realism of drug-crazed parents, mixed with the fantasy world of a little girl's imagination. This movie was so much more than I had hoped for. Way to go Terry, this is purely one of your finest. Right up there on the level of Fear and Loathing. Any critic that gives this film a bad review should seriously question their competency as a film critic (ahem Roger and Ebert)...

This is a movie that does not rely on SFX to impress the audience. The storytelling is amazing.

Without noticing, I was pulled into the fantasy world that this movie is. Nothing is judged, no good or evil. No clichés, no heroes. Just the story. Not entirely unlike 'Brazil'. But this movie relies less on a 'weird' future world. Sure, the atmosphere is weird. But not the surroundings. Little events, happening all the time, make up the world. It is unclear whether they are happening inside the characters head, or they are real events.

Perhaps a bit too much for most American style 'junk food film' viewers, but I hope some of the 'Hollywood Junk' producers take notice, and learn.

Too bad this movie didn't show in more theaters. A real 'must see' for those who loved 'Alice in Wonderland'

I have never been so terrorized while watching a movie. The tension in this film is so greatly created but it makes you want to leap out of your seat, dash down the aisle, and never think about kissing again. I felt the need to take a long, hot shower after this film, as it left almost a pile of dirt on each my shoulders. When coming out of movies, I can usually express right away the emotional turnout the film provided but this left me bewildered, stunned, shocked, more adjectives. The art direction was probably some of the most beautiful I've seen, but it's hard to appreciate a film when you keep turning away and groaning in agony at what could happen next. I suggest seeing the film, as it is masterfully done and quite beautiful, but be prepared to be repulsed and saddened by all that you see.