Strong and Moving!

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Tideland is one of the most unique, emotionally charged, and sophisticated films I have seen to date ( and I've seen quite a few). Terry Gilliam has been in the business a long time, so here he knew what to do...and what NOT to do. Tideland is a tale of fantasy and reality, and where the lines between fantasy and reality are completely blurred. To some, I can see this movie torquing with a lot of peoples heads, although I am certain that was never the intention. To others, it could be disturbing and frightening. For me, I found it to be a clever take on Alice In Wonderland. In fact, I can see this being an adult version of Wonderland altogether. The film wastes no time, taking us immediately into the life of a little girl, and her repulsive parents. Her mom is a junkie who cares more about her chocolates then her own daughter, and her father is an equal drug junkie who spends most of his time in his favorite recliner chair. From here, we begin a journey, seen through the eyes of a child. When mom is found dead in her own home, dad takes his child to another place...where he thinks he will be safe, because he fears that he will be charged with murder. Now things quickly get interesting, when some new characters are developed, particularly Dell and her mentally challenged son Dickens, who wants to build a ship ( he also wants to be the captain!) With the combination of talking dismembered doll heads, shifting land surfaces, and alternative under water human life conditions, we are in for a very bizarre, but touching experience...and it's one you will never have again. The film is very emotional, and the takes seem to be done with expertise and care, flawless from any error that I could find. So check your reality at the front door, and let Gilliam take over everything that you are about to see and hear, because this is one mind blowing, amazing film. The direction that the film goes is...unpredictable, to say the least. For a good hour, it seems to focus mainly on the relationship between the child and Dickens, which is tender and sweet, in my opinion, some may want to see more sickening things into it, I myself do not. For example, the girl is seen giving a friendly kiss on the lips of Dickens several times, in each instance, she comments "silly kissers." Aside from doll heads, the viewer should understand...this is the only friend she has, and being completely robbed from her child hood by her own parents, its very difficult for her to think in linear way, despite her intelligence appearing to be quite high. I think this is a well made film from the 2000's, however, I'm not sure what to make of the ending...it seems to leave a few things unresolved, however, that could be the intention, leaving the viewer to their own imagination as to what is to come for the future of all. ( That's all I can say without spoiling anything important, the movie has to be seen to be believed.) A bit uneven, intelligently quirky, and something you will never forget, I give this 7 out of a possible 10 stars. Welcome to Tideland!

Very morbid and disturbing, but at the same time very poetic. It is kind of movie where you expect Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter and Tim Barton to show up around the corner, but not enough fairytale- like or too realistic for them. Surely it is not horror, it's beautiful child drama. Whole movie is made from the point of view of 11 years old girl, so she carries whole movie on her own from the beginning till the end. And to successfully pull off that in such a young age is quite amazing.Maybe I am too biased towards this kind of movie, but in my opinion kid deserved at least nomination for Oscar. <38/10 overall 10/10 for Jodelle Ferland

The movie is not pleasant at all. It is very disturbing, in more ways then one. However, it absolutely will not leave your memory and you won't be able to forget about it. Some of the cinematography and dream sequences are surreal and very imaginative. This is a grotesque film, but not in a gory way. It is very unlike Terry Gilliam's other movies. It was very unexpected for me. I didn't really like it at first but it really sticks with you. I gave it a high rating because it is art. It makes you feel things you don't usually feel, even if they are unpleasant. This is the type of movie that is guaranteed to fail at the box office, yet the artist pushes on through. Most movies are very forgettable, and they will never be remembered. This one leaves an indelible impression, especially with all of the mental illness portrayed.

I'm writing this review after my third viewing of 'Tideland' - a film by acclaimed director, Terry Gilliam. If you're familiar with him (and his 'ex Monty Python roots') you'll know that his films are always - to put it mildly - a little 'off centre.' Tideland is no exception. It's about a young girl who, after both her drug addict parents die, seeks refuge in both an abandoned farm house and her imagination (which consists of talking doll heads and squirrels). It certainly is different and it has numerous good points. First of all is the young actress who has the hefty task of carrying the film almost single-handedly. She plays the part brilliantly (and quite beyond her years) as she portrays a girl with a troubled past who has only really got her imagination to keep her going. She does meet a few others along the way and their acting is also top notch, too. No one can say that Terry Gilliam doesn't get the best out of his cast.Then you have the direction itself. It's brilliant. Gilliam uses every shot to get the most out of the location and he manages to create a truly weird, wonderful and dreamlike state to set the movie in.However, if you've seen his other films - Brazil and Twelve Monkeys - you'll know that Brazil was a success because it had such an excellent script which moved the story ever onwards. Twelve Monkeys was primarily a mystery concerning what happened to the planet. But where Tideland falls down is in the story. There isn't one.Yes, it's weird and wonderful, but it's effectively a series of bizarre (and brilliantly filmed) scenes which don't really go anywhere.It's certainly not a bad film, but the reason I've watched it for a third time is because I'd forgotten what happened completely. This could be down to the lack of real story for me to actually remember.If you like weird, wonderful and art-house-like films, you'll love this. Just don't go hoping for too much in the way of a story.8/10 stars for acting and direction. 6/10 for the story.