Books - Tideland

	Books - Tideland

Tideland is a novel by author Mitch Cullin that was later adapted into a feature film by director Terry Gilliam and screenwriter Tony Grisoni.

The Book

Mitch Cullin's Tideland was published in the U.S. in 2000 by Dufour Editions. While destined to maintain a cult status, the book received major notices upon publication, including a review from New York Times Book Review which wrote that Cullin's novel was "brilliant and beautiful." Subsequent editions have been published in the United Kingdom, The Netherlands, and Japan.

The Movie

The film version of Tideland was directed by Terry Gilliam, and was shot in Regina, Saskatchewan in the fall and winter of 2004. The world premier was at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival, where the film was met with a mystified, outraged, and split reaction from both viewers and critics. As of yet there is no U.S release date confirmed for the movie - but a UK release date of June 2nd has been published on , a movie blog that has carried much news and many stills, a trailer and posters relating to Tideland as well as more of Terry Gilliam's work.

Film Festivals

After the usual amount of mixed reviews that accompany any new Terry Gilliam film, Tideland was awarded the Fipresci Prize at Spain's 2005 San Sebastian Festival, selected by an international jury of critics that, in their award statement, said: "Our jury focused on the international competition and found Terry Gilliam's Tideland to be the best film of the selection--a decision which provoked controversial reactions." The jury consisted of Andrei Plakhov, Russia, President (Commersant-Daily), Julio Feo Zarandieta, France (Radio France Internationale), Wolfgang Martin Hamdorf, Germany (filmdienst), Massimo Causo, Italy (Corriere Del Giorno), Sergi Sanchez, Spain (La Razon).

Story Overview

Tideland is a macabre and darkly surreal novel about an abandoned young girl (Jeliza-Rose), her life in rural Texas, and her imaginative fantasy life that often involves conversations with the dismembered heads of Barbie dolls. Some have favourablely compared the book to earlier Southern Gothic American literature such as To Kill a Mockingbird
and A Rose for Emily, while others, including Terry Gilliam and film producer Jeremy Thomas, have called the book a modern hybrid of Psycho and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
.

Written by American author Mitch Cullin, the book was first published in the United States in 2000. A subsequent United Kingdom paperback edition followed in 2003, and other editions were also published in The Netherlands and Japan. In 1999, Cullin sent a pre-publication galley to Gilliam for a cover blurb, but Gilliam so liked what he read that he optioned the book with an eye to direct. The film version was produced by Recorded Pictures, and was directed by Gilliam and shot in Canada in 2004. In 2003, the U.K. edition of Tideland was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson, with Gilliam's infamously funny blurb on the cover: "F*cking wonderful!".

Movie Cast Overview

Jodelle Ferland as Jeliza-Rose
Brendan Fletcher as Dickens
Jeff Bridges as Noah
Sally Crooks as Dell's Mother
Jennifer Tilly as Queen Gunhilda

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Tideland ]

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