Tales from the Gimli Hospital

In his first feature film, Guy Maddin spins a faux-Icelandic saga set during the smallpox epidemic in “a Gimli we no longer know.” Shot in black & white and structured as an extended flashback told by an ailing woman in a Gimli, Manitoba hospital, the film recounts the tale of Einar the Lonely and his hospital roommate Gunnar. As the two compete for the affection of the nurses, what begins as a friendly rivalry soon spirals into jealousy and madness. 

Nominated for a genie award for Best Screenplay, Gimli Hospital is a cult classic bearing many of the surreal hallmarks that would make Maddin one of Canada’s most singular filmmaking voices.