Tideland the film, and the resilience of a child.

Could you ever imagine being 9 years old and completely alone? Or surviving off half an ant filled jar of peanut butter and cooking up your father's daily heroine fix?


Before you watch this film you must forget the norm, everything you have learned and know. The Terry Gilliam film, Tideland, is closely based on the twisted novel by Mitch Cullin. Set in the prairie lands of the Midwest, the story follows Jeliza-Rose (Jodelle Ferland), a young girl who is hopelessly thrown into dark and dangerous situations but somehow seems to bounce back.

Jeliza creates her complex fantasy world to cope with the horrors and tragedies that take place in her life. This film is like nothing I've ever seen, while being funny, touching, and disturbing, it draws up a fascinating tension between fantasy and reality.


With heavy references to Alice in Wonderland, Jeliza faces her parents constant neglect, their fatal drug addictions, becomes somewhat romantically involved with a mentally disabled man, Dickens (Brendan Fletcher), and even witnesses human mummification.

There are some scenes that made even my stomach turn, but I love how despite all the horrors she is forced to face, Jeliza never loses her pure wonder and innocence. Photo from firstshowing.net


In times of great despair and fear, Jeliza's lines show that stark resilience some children have. Perhaps all of these fairy tales we read as children build us a shield against the cruelty we might encounter in life.
"You dreaming yourself far away, Daddy? Further than the 100 years ocean, beyond Jutland...deep, deep, deep, in the place where dreams are made. We'll be a happy family, we'll build a castle of crooked branches, and flattened pennies...We could eat butter tarts and drink lemonade from gold plated paper cups...I'll dream myself there too...If I shut my eyes and try hard enough, maybe I'll wake inside your dream."

Her real life is so shocking, that as things become too hard to bear, she delves deeper into her imagination, accompanied by her 4 very opinionated doll head friends. As time passes, you wonder just how much farther she will go, and if she ever will come back.

Filmed with the "Gilliam lens"-the extremely wide angles let you sink into the surreal scenery, matched to perfection with the haunting soundtrack by Mychael and Jeff Danna. While heavily revolving around fantasy, this film also has a gritty, edginess that keeps you with one foot 'through the looking glass' and one still planted on the other side.

Even with a cataclysmic ending, there is still beauty shown in plain sight in the midst of destruction.