Denis Villeneuve movies, ranked: Dune, Enemy, and more
By Matthew Pyne
9. Maelstrom
Maelstrom premiered at the Montreal Film Festival in 2000 and even won a Best Motion Picture award at the Berlin Film Festival. The story follows Bibiane Champagne, a 25-year old business professional. One night, Champagne is driving and inadvertently hits a man with her car. Instead of stopping to help, she flees the scene. The man is identified as 53-year old Annstein Karson, a fishmonger. Karson is shown after the incident stumbling back to his home, where he ultimately dies. In a twist of fate, Karson’s son Evian meets Champagne in the weeks following the incident and the two fall in love. After discovering that his father was cremated rather than having a burial at sea, Evian begins to investigate.
Evian eventually discovers that it was indeed Champagne who struck and killed his father without being caught. Evian feels conflicted, but is in love and decides to remain silent about the killing. This movie is all types of weird, but perhaps the strangest aspect being the sentient fish, who looks like a creature out of Eraserhead, narrating the story. Villeneuve clearly has intention with the themes of the movie, and I respect his vision if nothing else.
Maelstrom is not currently streaming or available to rent.
My score: 7.7/10