m a g i c a l r e a l i s m s u r v e y
2. Do you have a favorite MR film, stage performance or television program? Tell us about it.ANONYMOUS, publisher/editor, London, England
ANONYMOUS, retired journalist/translator/researcher/film production, FranceNot really—I don't think of them as 'magic realism.'
ANONYMOUS, retired dentist/medical educator, Newport, RIWe don't get much material. I did see your American series, The X-Files, in which the topics were unusual. Enjoyed it immensely.
CAROLYN BEASLEY, writer/creative writing teacher, Victoria, AustraliaNo.
carolynmareebeasley@excite.com
PAT BERGERON, dreamer/explorer/research secretary, Ann Arbor, MIAmelie. An exquisitely quirky romance that sees garden gnomes travelling the world, men collecting the fragments of torn photos from photo booths, and a woman finding love in someone who lives through the imagination as much as she does.
pcarolb@umich.edu
CHRIS DOERFLER, attorney/wannabe screenwriter, Phoenix, AZNorthern Exposure.
cadoerfler@cox.netLOUIS GALLO, professor of English, Radford University, Radford, VAI don’t have a favorite per se. I enjoyed the magical elements of Life of Pi, even though the author went too far and tipped his hand that the magic wasn’t really real, and Big Fish was an enjoyable movie, even if a bit over the top. (I’m southern though, so the tall tale motif was appealing.)
LAURA HORSLEY, high-school teacher, Houston, TXBergman's Fanny and Alexander. The magical realism is subtle and utterly believable. Too many film makers go astray when they try to translate magical realism as surrealism. That bombs every time.
MARIO HERRERA, student/University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NMI think Alfred Hitchock's Vertigo could be categorized as Magic Realism (of a darker sort): a man haunted by misplaced feelings of guilt sees a chance to redeem himself by making over his girlfriend in the image of Madeline (the woman he believes he killed). The results of this are ultimately the fulfillment of his feelings of guilt. (Vertigo is, of course, much more complicated than this, but for the sake of brevity, I'll hope the previous statements will suffice).
riodude@unm.eduCAROLIVIA HERRON, novelist, Washington DCI currently am not familiar with much in the way of performance of magical realist tales.
Carolivia@carolivia.orgDAVID INKEY, poet and philosopher (the UN Poet)No.
unpoet@aol.com
KATIE, graduate student/English teacher, Richmond, VAThe Wizard of Oz.
SONDRA KELLY-GREEN, writer, Willamina, ORI love The Sixth Sense. Fantastic the way the movie structure in and of itself is magical realism.
veniceitaly@excite.com
KATIE KLEIN, librarianKurosawa’s Dreams is one film I never tire of watching or telling others to watch. It’s such a delightful departure from his samurai work and it has an otherworldly, almost hypnotic quality with so many possible interpretations. And visually, it’s meringue.
DERAN LUDD, Seattle, WAWonderfalls—TV program Fox canceled after four episodes—the full season to be released on DVD 2/1/04. (Editor's note: Thanks for the tip! I loved Wonderfalls as well!) Jaye Tyler lives in Niagara Falls and works in a souvenir shop. Inanimate objects begin commanding her to do strange things, and she thinks she is going crazy. Ironically, Jaye is probably more sane than most of her friends and family who aren't receiving commands from wax lions. But, when she does what they ask things turn out well.
SANDRA MADDUX-CREECH, laid-off account manager, Wellington, COMulholland Drive.
madduxcreech@msn.com
HERMINE MEINHARD, poet/writing teacher, New York, NYThe Milagro Beanfield War. Though I liked the book, the film really brought the town and characters to life. The soundtrack is like music I've heard in dreams. And of course, Twin Peaks defined me as a writer. Thank you, Mr. Lynch.
herminem@earthlink.net
LETTIE PRELL, Des Moines, IAAmerican Beauty… an American magical realist movie… in which the images of the unconscious burst through the flatness of the material world… like in the amazing scene when red rose petals flood from the ceiling onto Lester Burnham's bed…
ROBERT PREUSS, writer, Saratoga Springs, NYKiss of the Spider Woman with William Hurt, Raul Julia and Sonia Braga… Two guys in prison and a whole fantasy world opening up as they talk…
JOHN PROHASKA, Winnipeg, ManitobaSo many films fall into this category… Magnolia, which is effectively a feature-length Aimee Mann music video, comes to mind. However, beyond the many contemporary magical realism film efforts, some involving chocolate, the one film that sets the standards is Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits. That, to me, is the defining work of magical realism in the cinema.
johnprohaska2000@yahoo.ca
KEN RAND, writer/part-time library shelver, West Jordan, UTI suppose I would say the film, Chocolat, though I don't know it fully meets my criteria for true MR. However, it was a charming film with a nice feel and had some fabulous performances by Binoche and Depp.
KRand27577@aol.com
JEAN MARIE RIQUELME, poet, Green Bay, WITime Bandits. Totally irreverent and inexplicable.
GARRETT ROWLAN, subteacher, Los Angeles, CACarnivale (HBO).
growlan@jps.net
KELLEY WHITE, pediatrician, Philadelphia, PATwilight Zone is my favorite MR TV program, though I didn't know it at the time. Just saw "The Machinist" with a friend who said he thought it was like an old Twilight Zone rerun, so maybe that's MR, too. But is it magic realism when the distortion is inside the character's head and now in the objective world? (Possible topic for essay.)
KelleyWhiteM D@Yahoo.com
CAROL ZAPATA-WHELAN, university instructor, Hispanic Lit/writer, Clovis, CA, USA/ArgentinaGee, does I Heart Hucklebees count? Actually, think I'll go with Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. [Editor's note: See our current film discussion about Magical Realist Angels for more like this one]
GO TO QUESTION 3Like Water for Chocolate. Humorous, lyrical, beautiful cinematography—even better than the book in the opinion of some critics.
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