The Green Fog (2017)

Directed by: Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, Galen Johnson | 73 minutes

It was supposed to be an ode to the city of San Francisco and the many movies and TV series that were shot there, but it became much more than that. While compiling their closing film for the anniversary edition of the international film festival in the Californian city – the San Francisco International Film Festival celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2017 – filmmaker Guy Maddin and the brothers Evan and Galen Johnson discovered while sifting through images from more than two hundred films a common thread that they had not expected. Each time they came across themes from Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 classic ‘Vertigo’. And because they were still looking for a framework around which to build their film collage, they chose the storyline of ‘Vertigo’ as a (loose) structure for ‘The Green Fog’. (2017). Where they initially mainly looked for images that matched or connected with each other, they now decided to imitate Hitchcock’s masterpiece with image fragments from other films. The result is an amazing collage of images that the true film nerd will especially enjoy. Because if you don’t know ‘Vertigo’ and you miss the common thread, you probably cannot appreciate this fine example of experimental filmmaking.

In the end, Maddin and the Johnson brothers used footage from about a hundred films and series in their film, which lasts a total of 62 minutes. Obvious and well-known titles such as ‘Dark Passage’ (1947, ‘Dirty Harry’ (1971) and ‘Basic Instinct’ (1992) and TV series such as ‘Hill Street Blues’ are interspersed with more obscure work and excerpts from commercials and video clips. Old and newer footage. Countless famous actors pass by: Humphrey Bogart, Joseph Cotten, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner, Michael Douglas, Rock Hudson, Anthony Quinn, Karl Malden – it’s just the tip of the iceberg. feast for the true film buff. But one fleeting shot is actually from ‘Vertigo’. You immediately get an idea of ​​the amount of films that have been made over a hundred years – the oldest film images used come from ‘Greed’ (1924) – filmed in San Francisco and how many iconic shots it resulted in. From chase scenes (whether at height or not) via the family feuds of the rich & famous to violent earthquakes, San Francisco is known there, at least as a movie city to . Maddin and the Johnson brothers topped their collage with the green mist from the title of their film, which was applied digitally to heighten the mystique.

The dialogues have been largely omitted, resulting in alienating, wordless conversations that acquire a certain charge through the editing that makes you laugh. This absurdist humor gives an extra dimension to the film. Thanks to the meticulous editing work by Evan and Galen Johnson, the scenes connect seamlessly and by cleverly pasting scenes together, they create new alienating, dryly comical situations; Michael Douglas from ‘Hill Street Blues’ who recommends a career in show business to himself on TV in ‘Basic Instinct’. The makers’ love for film even seeps through in Jacob Garchik’s score, in which fragments of soundtracks from various Hollywood periods are featured and in which a leading role is reserved – of course – for Bernard Herrmann, with whom Hitchcock often collaborated. The music is played by the Kronos Quartet. If you’re not a big movie buff, then at first sight the chaotic and incoherent ‘The Green Fog’ might not be your cup of tea. If film is your passion and your life, indulge in this surprisingly funny celebration of San Francisco as a film city and take the tribute to ‘Vertigo’ as a pleasant bonus into the bargain.