And it’s a matter of fetishistic nostalgia the kind of mood that often appeals to Guy Maddin’s style. Whether he approaches stories with a free narrative structure or attacks the plot under a serious tone, Maddin's movies provide the ultimate example to illustrate debates around substance and form on cinema.
Within the blurry lines created for The Forbidden Room and along with all visual design, it is pretty clear that an unique vintage cinematic view is under Maddin’s command. One can argue that a this bizarre perspective provides a counter balance to another Canadian director Bill Morrison, whose old film clips treatment produces a different kind of vintage world. Bill, who digs into film archives with real scratches and rust, comes up with a sort of live installations like his acclaimed Decasia. Different cinematic worlds that share the same old memories. Perhaps, after all, there’s a last room on that submarine waiting to be discovered.