Wow!
It was unlike anything I've ever seen before or will ever see again. It's hard to even call Tideland a movie because it questions and tramples over everything we expect when we go sit in front of that big screen, so much so that seeing the movie is exhausting and at times unpleasant. When a movie can make you feel something for real... when something on that screen can transfer over and hit you in the gut... That's what cinema can do at it's best and that's what Tideland does and it does it in the most unconventional and powerful ways. He has truly made this an "experience". If you go into this movie with an open mind, put in the work it takes and try to let go of your conventions, you will feel changed after seeing it.
I'm not sure how long it's going to take critics and movie goers to realize what Gilliam has done here. I am still not fully aware of how powerful this movie really is. It's taken me more than a few days to even realize if I liked it or not. What I do know is if Gilliam can make something like this, a true masterpiece of film making, it is a goddamned shame he has been jerked around by studio after studio trying to get his movies made. It's sad to even imagine how many more amazing movies he could have made in his career if he had the backing he deserved.
Some critics are saying that this is gilliam's "fuck you" to the hollywood studio system and they're probably right. This was so completely far off from anything that has ever been inside or outside of the mainstream. We can only hope that Gilliam has enough left in him for a few more "fuck you's" like this one.
Thanks Terry.