本片取材自加国前总理麦肯齐・金的日记。特以超8和16mm摄影机拍摄,引用真实世界人物的语句,并搭设大量场景与动画营造怀旧时代感,还偷渡了反串、3P、恋鞋癖、种族及纵欲等多项议题,揭露奠定加拿大基础的沙文主义殖民态度,也顺势造就一段荒诞怪奇又爱到卡惨死的假传记爱情。Renowned for his mesmerizing, gonzo biographical shorts Mynarski Death Plummet and The Tesla World Light, Matthew Rankin doubles down on his signature blend of historical and aesthetic abstraction with his debut feature, a bizarre biopic that re-imagines the formative years of former Canadian Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King as a series of abject humiliations. Stylistically indebted to early cinema via its alchemy adoption of antiquated analogue techniques that recall the work of Guy Maddin, The Twentieth Century plays fantastically fast and loose with history as it riotously roasts both its subject and the political legacies of the Great White North. Exuding both manic ambition and cherubic naivety, Daniel Beirne is magnificently funny as a young Mackenzie King, who is determined to fulfill the political destiny that was prophesied by his dogmatic mother (played by Maddin regular Louis Negin). But when destiny appears to be deferred by a romantic rebuke and an unexpected ...