Tideland
Tideland
R | 13 October 2005 (USA)
Tideland Trailers

Because of the actions of her irresponsible parents, a young girl is left alone on a decrepit country estate and survives inside her fantastic imagination.

Reviews
Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined
CommentsXp Best movie ever!
Comwayon A Disappointing Continuation
Catherina If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.
audacity10 After spending too long trying to decide which movie to watch last night, I chose a duff called Tideland. Here we have a movie that surrounds and involves a young girl in a world of hard drugs, abusive parents, sex, death, violence and strong language - all things we should be protecting children of her age from. The director, Gilliam, clearly thought he could get away with this so long as it's acted out with playful Disney-esque music dancing away in the background and with the odd hint at humour. Humour which barely raised the corner of my mouth into a smile. No, this is deliberate and nihilistic and I can only imagine perverts or communists enjoying watching this degrading junk. You can of course try and search for an inner message if you want - but I doubt you'll make it to the end of the movie, considering how painfully boring it is. It drags on for 2 hours, I only regret that I dedicated a whole 1 hr 20 mins to this turd.
tdrish 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!
SnoopyStyle Rocker Noah (Jeff Bridges) and his wife Queen Gunhilda (Jennifer Tilly) are both addicts. Their daughter Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland) is the only adult in the family. She even prepares the heroin needles for them. When the mother dies, Noah takes Jeliza-Rose to his family home in the middle of nowhere rural Texas. Noah quickly dies from an overdose. Jeliza-Rose encounters Dell (Janet McTeer) who she thought at first a ghost. Dell lives with her mentally-challenged brother Dickens (Brendan Fletcher). Jeliza-Rose befriends Dickens in sometimes sexual play. She also creates four minions Sateen Lips, Glitter Gal, Mustique and Baby Blonde with dismembered doll heads.This is a muddled, imaginative, and a little creepy. The most controversial is some foreplay between nine-year-old Jodelle and the mentally challenged Dickens. It's very uncomfortable. If Terry Gilliam is unwilling to push the envelop, it's better to not linger on the issue. Suggestions would be more compelling than the icky feel of all the teasing. The story itself is a muddled mix of limited fantasy and unsatisfying reality. Sometimes, the fantasy like the underwater scene works but many times, it looks unfinished. The jarring reality of the situation is problematic at best. The fantasy works better. The movie should stay with the homes and the grassy fields. The best part is Jodelle Ferland. She takes control of the movie and never lets go. Gilliam needs someone to take control of the writing while giving him free-reign over the visual concepts.
Johnny Davis Just got done with this movie and I must say it drags on somewhat, similar to the way Fear and Loathing did for me. The dialogue is done in a way that it defies you to listen to it and absorb anything. I tried to watch Fear and Loathing 3 times and could never finish it. I finished Tideland, but it wasn't that great. I will say Jodelle Ferland and Brendan Fletcher are SUPERB in their roles as Jeliza Rose and Dickens, but it feels like 2 great performances in a boring, supposed-to-shock-me, Natural Born Killers-esque affair that has already been done. Then again, the film challenges me in that I am appalled that I am not appalled by the things I see here, so it has some social merit, of sorts.Overall, my feeling is that Terry Gilliam's best work is long behind him, like 12 Monkeys and Brazil, Time Bandits, Python, etc. I think sometimes filmmakers get older and lose their edge, falling victim to sentimentality, and it changes their art (usually for the worse, imho.) It is beginning to seem this is the case with Gilliam. I didn't like Imaginarium, either, btw. I saw That before I saw this.