MAELSTROM labored far too hard be unconventional, yet Denis Villeneuve(director) did demonstrate the possibility for a very interesting film. Guilt due to an abortion which is exacerbated by a hit and run incident communicates a compelling narrative, but why introduce...a talking fish??? Sure, one could make a case for a 'talking fish', but how about a 'laughing typewriter', or an 'all knowing piece of cheese'. You just can't introduce something so outré without explanation, or you cross the line into extreme pretension. Of course, the 'talking fish' might represent Fertility, yet 'a laughing typewriter' could also indicate a playful creator, or 'an all knowing piece of cheese' could represent all of the above. If you want to get weird, the weird can turn pro. MAELSTROM had a fine cast, but the script failed to blend the ham-fisted element of 'the fishy fable' with the story's inherent dramatic subject matter, and in the end, the film aborted

"mælstrom" -- a large, violent whirlpool from which there is no escapeThe Chinese consider water as the abode of the dragon and the source of all life. Dennis Villenueve's Maelstrom is filled with multiple levels of water imagery: a fish as narrator, a suicide attempt in a river, the main character falling in love with a frogman, and scenes of repeated cleansing by water. Winner of five major Genie awards in 2001, Maelstrom is a playfully alive but dramatically intense look at the life a pleasure-seeking 25-year old boutique executive of (Marie Josee Croze) who runs into an emotional storm following an abortion and a fatal accident that she does not report. Like many who exist solely for their own pleasure, she manages to avoid responsibility but ends up having to deal with the results and becomes transformed in the process.Pierre Lebeau narrates the film in a heavy voice as a fish awaiting decapitation. Villenueve says that, "For me, it (the fish) is a kind of metaphor for all the storytellers from the beginning of mankind". It is an odd conceit but strangely effective. The fish tells the story of Bibi and we first meet her at a medical clinic undergoing an abortion. Guilt is written on her face as we witness her descent into alcohol and drugs. She is fired for incompetence by her brother and, after drinking heavily, is involved in a hit and run accident in which a Norwegian fish industry worker is killed. Spiraling downward, she attempts suicide but survives and falls in love with the dead man's son Evian (Jean-Nicholas Verreault) after attending the father's funeral. Maelstrom does not sound much like a romantic comedy but it is full of off-the-wall humor and suffers from an overabundance of cleverness. The film does not progress in linear fashion and there are several shifts of time and perspective to keep the viewer on edge. One flashback shows the chain of events that follows a complaint about the quality of the octopus in a restaurant and a stranger (Marc Gelinas) who keeps popping up in strange places to offer words of wisdom to the characters. The soundtrack also varies from Tom Waits to Edvard Grieg, even including "Good Morning, Starshine" from "Hair". Philosophical, surreal, absurd, symbolic, all with a creative touch similar to Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie, Maelstrom tells us that the secret of life is…to be continued.

If you have read any summary for this film, either given by this site or other reviewers, then there you have it: you've seen the movie. Aside from the basic plot, nothing else happens. I bought this movie based on the rave reviews flooding these pages and I was shocked when I finally saw it. I fell asleep the first time I watched it, and then had to plod thru it a second time, in an attempt to get my money's worth. The few complaints you've read are all true! Through the entire film. Do not waste your time on this mess, you can thank me by renting a better movie like Abre Los Ojos or Magnolia.

I saw this film at Sundance and it was the best film I saw there by far.Marie-Josée Croze is a French-speaking long-lost sexy little sister of Maura Tierney (for all you casting directors out there). The first scene of the movie is likely to shock 95% of viewers, but if they can get past it this twisted caper is not only worth seeing at the theater/theatre/cinema, but a good candidate for DVD collections. RIYL: Delicatessen, Insomnia, David Lynch.