Archangel

Archangel is a 1990 film from Canadian director Guy Maddin. The film is a surreal comedy-drama set just after the end of World War I, in 1919. News of the war's end has not yet reached the remote Arctic Ocean port of Archangel in Russia, so they fight on. The Russian Civil War is also underway. The film's protagonist is Lt. John Boles, a soldier missing a leg and quite a few of his memories. He mourns his dead lover, Iris. Boles has a "billet" in... more

Archangel is a 1990 film from Canadian director Guy Maddin. The film is a surreal comedy-drama set just after the end of World War I, in 1919. News of the war's end has not yet reached the remote Arctic Ocean port of Archangel in Russia, so they fight on. The Russian Civil War is also underway. The film's protagonist is Lt. John Boles, a soldier missing a leg and quite a few of his memories. He mourns his dead lover, Iris. Boles has a "billet" in the home of a Russian family. There he meets Veronkha, who bears a striking resemblance to Iris. Veronkha's soldier husband Philbin, suffers from amnesia and perpetually believes it to be his wedding night. Meanwhile Boles obsessively believes that Veronkha is Iris. Fat crybaby Jannings proves he isn't such a coward after all, young Geza's admiration for Boles seems a bit extreme, and Danchak imparts her beliefs about darkness. Meanwhile, the wars rage on in the Arctic night, and everyone performs heroically, albeit in a sort of amnesia. The... less