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2. Do you have a favorite MR film, stage performance or television program? Tell us about it.

ANONYMOUS, publisher/editor, London, England

Not really—I don't think of them as 'magic realism.'
ANONYMOUS, retired journalist/translator/researcher/film production, France
We don't get much material. I did see your American series, The X-Files, in which the topics were unusual. Enjoyed it immensely.
ANONYMOUS, retired dentist/medical educator, Newport, RI
No.
CAROLYN BEASLEY, writer/creative writing teacher, Victoria, Australia
carolynmareebeasley@excite.com
Amelie. An exquisitely quirky romance that sees garden gnomes travelling the world, men collecting the fragments of torn photos from photo booths, and a woman finding love in someone who lives through the imagination as much as she does.
PAT BERGERON, dreamer/explorer/research secretary, Ann Arbor, MI
pcarolb@umich.edu
Northern Exposure.
CHRIS DOERFLER, attorney/wannabe screenwriter, Phoenix, AZ
cadoerfler@cox.net
I don’t have a favorite per se. I enjoyed the magical elements of Life of Pi, even though the author went too far and tipped his hand that the magic wasn’t really real, and Big Fish was an enjoyable movie, even if a bit over the top. (I’m southern though, so the tall tale motif was appealing.)
LOUIS GALLO, professor of English, Radford University, Radford, VA
Bergman's Fanny and Alexander. The magical realism is subtle and utterly believable. Too many film makers go astray when they try to translate magical realism as surrealism. That bombs every time.
LAURA HORSLEY, high-school teacher, Houston, TX
I think Alfred Hitchock's Vertigo could be categorized as Magic Realism (of a darker sort): a man haunted by misplaced feelings of guilt sees a chance to redeem himself by making over his girlfriend in the image of Madeline (the woman he believes he killed). The results of this are ultimately the fulfillment of his feelings of guilt. (Vertigo is, of course, much more complicated than this, but for the sake of brevity, I'll hope the previous statements will suffice).
MARIO HERRERA, student/University of New Mexico Albuquerque, NM
riodude@unm.edu
I currently am not familiar with much in the way of performance of magical realist tales.
CAROLIVIA HERRON, novelist, Washington DC
Carolivia@carolivia.org
No.
DAVID INKEY, poet and philosopher (the UN Poet)
unpoet@aol.com
The Wizard of Oz.
KATIE, graduate student/English teacher, Richmond, VA
I love The Sixth Sense. Fantastic the way the movie structure in and of itself is magical realism.
SONDRA KELLY-GREEN, writer, Willamina, OR
veniceitaly@excite.com
Kurosawa’s Dreams is one film I never tire of watching or telling others to watch. It’s such a delightful departure from his samurai work and it has an otherworldly, almost hypnotic quality with so many possible interpretations. And visually, it’s meringue.
KATIE KLEIN, librarian
Wonderfalls—TV program Fox canceled after four episodes—the full season to be released on DVD 2/1/04. (Editor's note: Thanks for the tip! I loved Wonderfalls as well!) Jaye Tyler lives in Niagara Falls and works in a souvenir shop. Inanimate objects begin commanding her to do strange things, and she thinks she is going crazy. Ironically, Jaye is probably more sane than most of her friends and family who aren't receiving commands from wax lions. But, when she does what they ask things turn out well.
DERAN LUDD, Seattle, WA
Mulholland Drive.
SANDRA MADDUX-CREECH, laid-off account manager, Wellington, CO
madduxcreech@msn.com
The Milagro Beanfield War. Though I liked the book, the film really brought the town and characters to life. The soundtrack is like music I've heard in dreams. And of course, Twin Peaks defined me as a writer. Thank you, Mr. Lynch.
HERMINE MEINHARD, poet/writing teacher, New York, NY
herminem@earthlink.net
American Beauty… an American magical realist movie… in which the images of the unconscious burst through the flatness of the material world… like in the amazing scene when red rose petals flood from the ceiling onto Lester Burnham's bed…
LETTIE PRELL, Des Moines, IA
Kiss of the Spider Woman with William Hurt, Raul Julia and Sonia Braga… Two guys in prison and a whole fantasy world opening up as they talk…
ROBERT PREUSS, writer, Saratoga Springs, NY
So many films fall into this category… Magnolia, which is effectively a feature-length Aimee Mann music video, comes to mind. However, beyond the many contemporary magical realism film efforts, some involving chocolate, the one film that sets the standards is Fellini's Juliet of the Spirits. That, to me, is the defining work of magical realism in the cinema.
JOHN PROHASKA, Winnipeg, Manitoba
johnprohaska2000@yahoo.ca
I suppose I would say the film, Chocolat, though I don't know it fully meets my criteria for true MR. However, it was a charming film with a nice feel and had some fabulous performances by Binoche and Depp.
KEN RAND, writer/part-time library shelver, West Jordan, UT
KRand27577@aol.com
Time Bandits. Totally irreverent and inexplicable.
JEAN MARIE RIQUELME, poet, Green Bay, WI
Carnivale (HBO).
GARRETT ROWLAN, subteacher, Los Angeles, CA
growlan@jps.net
Twilight Zone is my favorite MR TV program, though I didn't know it at the time. Just saw "The Machinist" with a friend who said he thought it was like an old Twilight Zone rerun, so maybe that's MR, too. But is it magic realism when the distortion is inside the character's head and now in the objective world? (Possible topic for essay.)
KELLEY WHITE, pediatrician, Philadelphia, PA
KelleyWhiteM D@Yahoo.com
Gee, does I Heart Hucklebees count? Actually, think I'll go with Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire. [Editor's note: See our current film discussion about Magical Realist Angels for more like this one]
CAROL ZAPATA-WHELAN, university instructor, Hispanic Lit/writer, Clovis, CA, USA/Argentina
Like Water for Chocolate. Humorous, lyrical, beautiful cinematography—even better than the book in the opinion of some critics.
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