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DRACULA: PAGES FROM A VIRGIN'S DIARY
Directed by: Guy Maddin.
Produced by: Vonnie Von Helmolt.
Based on: Mark Godden's ballet Dracula, adapted from the Bram Stoker novel.
Director of Photography: Paul Suderman.
Edited by: deco dawson.
Music by: Gustav Mahler.
Released by: Zeitgeist.
Country of Origin: Canada. 75 min. Not Rated.
With: Zhang Wei-Qiang, Tara Birtwhistle, David Moroni, CindyMarie Small & Johnny Wright.
DVD Features: Commentary by director Guy Maddin. Behind-the-scenes featurette with interviews of Maddin, producer Vonnie Von Helmolt & choreographer Mark Godden. Video piece on the construction of the sets. Radio interviews with Maddin and Von Helmolt. Photo Gallery.

In bringing the Royal Winnipeg Ballet version of Dracula to screen, Guy Maddin set out to remain faithful to Bram Stoker’s novel. Using intertitles taken from the text and fully exploring the erotic relationships, he achieves his goal. But beyond the classic gothic horror story, Maddin also examines the notion of otherness and what it means to be a monster. This point of view allows Maddin to get political - critiquing British xenophobia and fear of Eastern European immigrants.

A lover of silent films, Maddin shot the film in black and white, though he swathes some scenes in muted colors, like olive green and purple. The camera moves gracefully around the dancers, making mesmerizing silent cinema out of filmed ballet. The characters are expressive and wonderfully melodramatic, the dancing is exquisite and the setting magical. Although Dracula: Pages From a Virgin’s Diary, is very much an art film, it has a sense of humor and a self-awareness that keeps it from being heavy-handed. The suitors of the doomed Lucy (Birtwhistle) are goofy men of the times. A coquette, she can’t decide which one to marry. She writes in her diary, “Why can’t a woman marry three men?”

DVD Extras: The DVD offers a rare glance into the mind of an art film auteur. With humor and admiration for his cast, Maddin comments on the editing, use of color and lighting, and the challenges of filming ballet. The other extras, informative and entertaining, give the viewer a further look at the production, letting us in on some secrets - like the use of aluminum foil and foam to create the Gaudí-esque lair where Dracula brings his victims. Caitlin Shamberg, former programming associate for the Mill Valley Film Festival
May 23, 2004