Goodbye, 20th Century!

Running time: N/A

Imagine Mad Max meeting Bram Stoker with imagery right out of Fellini. Add some Bunuel, Bergman and Leone, a touch of Euripedes, Chekov and Ionesco with a twist of Beastmaster, and you have some idea how this film plays. Beginning with a quote from the Book of Genesis prophesizing destruction, Goodbye, 20th Century! is a post-apocalyptic tale of violence and exaggeration described by its makers as "a film about merry Santa Claus who in a rage destroys our world, and about the people who are - as a result - condemned to immortal life." Filmed with a finesse that belies its independent budget, this Vonnegut-like tale features a murderous Santa Claus, incest, a fortune-telling prophet who shaves corpses, an explosively flatulent elderly woman, a manic, philosophical man with green hair, a brief journey through a toilet, and an immortal warrior, made impotent after having sex with a saint. Bold, outrageously staged and hilarious, Goodbye, 20th Century! is an original vision of what we might expect of the next millennium provided we will all be able to let go of our inhibitions and walk around the world naked. It's akin to a symphony Anton Brucker might have composed had he been a Dead Head. In the tradition of all great Cinequest "After Hours" features, this film is quintessential. --Tim Sika