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Amazon.co.uk Review
Whimsical, occasionally alarming and consistently odd, Tideland isn’t a film for everyone. But director Terry Gilliam would be the first to admit that; in his introduction on the DVD, he says that while some people will love the film, others will hate it, and still others just won’t know what to make of it.
It’s not difficult to see why. Tideland is about a little girl whose imagination becomes her refuge when first her mother dies of a drug overdose, then her deadbeat father follows suit, leaving her alone in a house surrounded by endless fields and lurking lunatics.
Tideland has been compared with Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth; but where the latter film had a brutal wartime backdrop, Tideland is set in the sunny but isolated world of the American deep South, and the nightmare creatures of the Labyrinth are exchanged for battered dolls’ heads. Left to his own devices, Gilliam does tend to make very strange films, and this is no exception. Tideland’s real strength is in its lead actress: for an eleven-year-old to carry a film that tackles death, drugs and child abuse is a tall order, but Jodelle Ferland manages it spectacularly. --Sarah Dobbs
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47 of 51 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Beautiful, but not for everyone,
By Sundragon (UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tideland [2006] [DVD] (DVD)
This DVD has an introduction from Terry Gilliam at the beginning of the film, in it he says "I've got a confession to make, a lot of you aren't going to like this film." It's sad, but it's true, it's true because there are some very controversial scenes in the film, it's sad because a lot people won't be able to look past that, and see what a brilliant film this really is. No, these scenes don't have to be in the film, but maybe Gilliam's making a point about how we see the world; "If it's disturbing it's because it's innocent." Tideland is the story of a little girl named Jeliza- Rose who travels to a small house in the country with her father, the film shows how she deals with her difficult life with imagination, the film's dark and disturbing, but ultimately optimistic.
There's a lot for Gilliam fans here, the camera angles, the odd fantasy elements and the strange dark humour. This film could have been terrible if it hadn't been done properly, but the film stays interesting and gripping because of the connection Gilliam gives us to Jeliza-Rose. I'm not here to judge, and if people don't like this film they're entitled to, but all I'm saying is give it a chance, because a fair few of you, like me, are going to love it for the beautiful film it is.
45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love it or hate it, but this is Gilliam at his best.,
By Charles Wolf "Lupaster" (Italia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tideland [2006] [DVD] (DVD)
This is an adaptation of Mitch Cullin's Tideland, a category defying film that is at turns poetic, disgusting, absurd, and darkly funny (think the languid pacing of Spirit of the Beehive, the fever dream of Alice in Wonderland, the wry insanity Psycho, and a large dose of Terence Malik gone insane).
In many ways, this is the purest Gilliam film since Brazil (a film that also borrowed liberally from other sources while maintaining its own originality), and hearkens back to the days when auteurs were not only allowed to follow their wildest muse but were expected to do so. And that, too, presents what will no doubt be Tideland's greatest failing, as well as its highest achievement. Cinema has become so cynical in the last twenty years, so narrow in scope and so entertainment driven, that anything which requires viewers to experience a motion picture on its own terms is usually greeted with scorn. These would be very tough times, indeed, for the likes of a young Fellini, Kubrick, and Lynch. That's not to say Tideland is a perfectly misunderstood creation, although it should be pointed out that those who are screaming foul about this film being pointless, self indulgent, and too weird are likely the very same people who ridiculed Grimm for being unoriginal, mainstream, and plain. Yes, there were walkouts at its screenings, gasps of shock, even angry grumbling. There were also laughs, applause, and continued debates concerning what the film was really about (how often does that occur these days after a screening?). In the end, Tideland will likely please a select group who prefer to experience cinema rather than opposing it with their own expectations (there were those who were still talking about it two days following its premiere, even when they hated it). But for those who are anxiously wanting Time Bandits 2 or desire some degree of Pythonesque humor, Tideland will disturb, bore, and profoundly bother to the point of contempt. Nevertheless, it is a very unique and, at times, incredible film, infused with at least two amazing performances, beautiful photography, and one of the most enigmatic endings I've seen in ages. Hate it or love it, few will be able to deny the lingering, ineffable vibrations left by this film, or that it stands as further proof that its director has stayed true to himself. Of course, prepare for the yin/yang laments to come in spades: Grimm would have been a better film had Gilliam been left to his own devices; Tideland would have been a better film had Gilliam not been left to his own devices. Poor Terry Gilliam; apparently he can do no right even when he does. Me? I loved every minute of it and I am putting this beside Fear and Loathing in the cult section.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Depends what you expect!,
This review is from: Tideland [2006] [DVD] (DVD)
I feel compelled to review this if only to counter all the negativity here and up the average of the star rating! This is Gilliam - you can't expect something ordinary so don't complain you don't get plots and happy endings! This is a whimsical, beautifully shot and superbly acted, sinister but strangly charming sort of day(or few days)-in-the-life of a little girl and the part fantasy world she imagines or creates in order to cope/enjoy/better experience - whatever - the 'real' one. Don't expect anything conventional or even profound - it's an Alice in Wonderland story; not the quirky Disney ones though, rather the frequently weird and constantly intriguing Lewis Carrol novels. If you like them you may well enjoy this.
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