Terry Gilliam is an intelligent and daring director, something truly worth appreciating. His uniquely unsettling style is vividly showcased in this film, leaving no one indifferent. A powerful reflection on imagination as a means of escaping a harsh reality.

People have varying reasons to watch a film. Most of us want to escape from real life. Sometimes we want to feel real life echoed in a film. Gillian's film is uncomfortable and heart-wrenchingly sad. That's the film. It's not trying too hard to be something it's not. It accomplishes its goal. Jodelle is legendary as a beautiful talented child actor. This film deserves at least a four star rating worth a watch.

Our bizarre and cruel world, but seen from the innocent and noble eyes of a girl. Without a doubt a good film.

Brilliant and disturbing. Jeff Bridges's and Jennifer Tilley's performances are great, and Jodelle Ferland is wonderful. Terry Gilliam's directing is so good. This is a weird, dark movie, but definitely worth watching. There is nothing like it.

I'm sorry but rotting corpses and paedophillia overtones don't appeal to me, and this mess of a movie is ruined by these awkward themes. Unlike other Gilliam movies, this one is devoid of any humour whatsoever. Hated it.

Disgustingly evil, and backstabbery abounds in the writing. Friends and family turning on friends and family, with no loyalty, and narcissism at every turn. No relationship is sacred here... Spoiler Alert: Mothers trying to kill daughters, Humans hating the Tidelander's Mothers (Sirens) for killing their men, and blaming the Tidelander Half-Siren children who are longing to find their mothers, willing to kill, and betray anyone and everyone to do so. And for what? This is the question that is never answered. They DO see their mother sirens right at the end, and then..... the season and series is over. It's not even a good cliffhanger.. just a cliff that they drove right off, which is why this is a sunken ship of a movie with no resolution to the most basic question of, WHY? Sadly, with the writer and actors on strike, I suspect that older garbage like this, that we skipped the firs time, is all that lay ahead of us for the time being. This reminds me of the Wicker Man. Watching this leaves you feeling gross and icky all over. It reminds you that while it's fiction, that people like this really do exist in the world. The sex in the movie is stupid. Rather showing empowerment, sluttiness is simply accepted as the norm, and never addressed. Apparently sleeping with each other, no matter the perceived relationship is acceptable. The Tidelander Queen/"Mother" is seen on screen kissing and making out with her adult "children" whom they refer to as "The Madam". I was left wondering if this was a brothel reference, which seemed to be the case as gratuitous scenes show the "children" making out with each other for no apparent reason. I like skin and sex in a movie, but it needs to have purpose and relate to the plot, if even in the least little bit, or even announce its gratuitous nature. But it seems to me to be an attempt to include skin and sex simply because "sex sells". But then they sensor it at times warring with the idea of having it or not having it... Alas, even some gratuitous skin is not enough to save this wretched piece of work. Calliope is the only one worth watching here. Charlotte Best did a good job in the role. It's hard for me judge any other acting, because the scenes didn't give enough opportunity to any of the other actors IMO. Even though I was left cursing the writing on even her scenes. One quick example: If you are placed in a time sensitive situation of saving a girl or your brother... why did you spend precious MINUTES, wailing about not being able to save them both, and instead of Getting to WORK on one and then moving to the other as one would, She.. well,,, she simply wastes time... by the end, I was biased. I may be harsh, but I will give them credit for evoking such a strong emotional reaction from me. I liked the potential of this show at the beginning and toward the middle, but by the end, I hated this show.

A twisted trip but one worth taking.

Very strange movie, I would even dare to say too strange, the plot is very particular and manages not to go anywhere. The whole film has something wrong, it has many points that are too wrong or too absurd for the disturbing poetic aspect it would like to have. In conclusion it is not a bad film but it is excessive and too stupidly unrealistic and at times even boring.

Ouch. Painfully dull, irritating and listless. What happened?! No connection with the characters at all; poor story: awful acting

I... I find it hard to give this movie a rating – any kind of rating, be it good or bad. All I can say is that, if you pardon my French, I cannot see this movie as anything but Terry Gilliam's film diarrhea. I mean – he, as a filmmaker, always had some inclination to vulgarity, and it is something that I have always seen as his greatest vice (again – as a filmmaker). Here, however, he focused on nothing but it and by doing that he took it to a whole another level and elevated it to an art form (if it wasn't one already). I mean, I have seen my share of things, or at least I want to believe I did, but "Tideland" still managed to low-key shock even me. And, I must admit, that was somewhat... fascinating, I think. This movie is its own thing and I have no doubt that is has it audience (edgy teenagers may like it even today), and a part of me kinda identifies with them. I have always liked all things weird; still there must be a point where even I say with confusion and fascination mixed with equal amounts: "well, I am definitely not quite sure if I would like to see anything like that ever again". Am I being inconclusive? Yes, sir. But I cannot not be, not regarding "Tideland". The one good thing that came out off it was that, if you excuse me, Gilliam had had to fully clear his bowels with this movie. Truly cleansing experience, if only for the director, not the audience. ... Besides, there are moral considerations at play here. I mean: can anyone involved say with clear conscience that they did good by Jodelle Ferland? Usually I'm the last one to cry "Will someone please think about the children!", but good God, that's some seriously messed up childhood. Or maybe not, what do I know...

Despite being beautifully shot and a great performance by Jeff Bridges (albeit short lived), 35 mins in I was so tired of the little girl jumping back and forth between screaming and giggling as she plays make-believe with her doll head. Maybe one needs to be a parent or child to enjoy this very specific babysitting journey. I couldn't make it through because in my opinion, the main take away from a film should not be aggravation or irritation.

Hot damn! This is one dark and twisted fairy tale. The film plays through child-like dream logic. So it can be frustrating for someone looking for a conventional structure, but if you can get on this films wavelength, it's an impressive sight to behold.

Wow. Beautiful cinematography to start. Fantastic performance by Jodelle Ferland. Scary and gruesome, Tideland goes to some very dark places quite boldly, and it deserves praise for that. I hope everything the lead did was carefully contained and disclosed in advance as there is room for trauma in material that profound for a child actor. That said the movie did show some restraint, but it generally shied away from neither dark material nor the power of innocence, and that is its strength. Its portrayal of the invincible fragility of a child's wonder - even in ghastly circumstances - is expert. Tideland is a visionary fairy tale of a film, not unlike Pan's Labyrinth, though far closer to a child's perspective and all the more delightful - and humorous - for it. I can see why reviewers may have felt unwilling to give this film just praise, given how graphic it can be. But it deserves applause on several accounts, notably: 1) a somewhat exaggerated but on the whole realistic and heartfelt performance of a mentally handicapped man that did not feel cheap, 2) angled camera shots that could have been tedious but managed a pleasantly off-putting mix of horror and wonder, and 3) a marvelous plunge down the rabbit hole of an abused child's psyche - without losing heart or hope - right to the end. While not a perfect film - especially in the first 30 minutes - and perhaps not so dark a film as to have earned an Oscar nod, Tideland remains an adventure worth having for those with a strong enough stomach and a young enough heart.

The director subtly draws us into the imaginary world of a 9 year old. We begin by seeing an imaginative child, playing as children do. But, then we see glimpses of what she is imagjning, and soon are pulled in. There is subtle beauty, of an innocent child's mind. Conversely, we are faced with the ugly, horrifying, and mentally unstable world around her. The child's imagination makes all that is dark or diaturbing, seem ordinary and part of her imaginative world. This movie doesn't get enough credit, for it's subtleness and imaginative directing.

I'm surprised by so many negative reviews. As a fan of all Gilliam' work, I'm also surprised that this one slipped under my radar until recently. Like Guillermo del Toro's Pan's Labyrinth, this is a tragic and grotesque gothic horror seen through the innocent eyes of a charmingly imaginative pre-teen girl with a heavy nod to Lewis Carroll. Tideland takes us into some extremely uncomfortable territory with the twist of how a creative child playfully copes with a parade of events that we as the audience can only see as horrifying. Like many of Gilliam's films, it is a skewed perception that turns reality into fantasy, rather than the other way around. Sympathizing with the character played by this amazing young actress, I found myself questioning all my assumptions when she began to take charge in a disturbingly seductive way. I then realized that this was just another aspect of her innocence and a way of turning the horrors that surround her into a kind of playful game that she can control. I haven't seen this taboo so directly addressed since Lolita, and I can understand why this might be where much of the audience might throw in the towel. However, it fit within the internal logic of the film's themes that include survival, death, coming of age, grief, and creativity. The foreshadowed ending paralleled Gilliam's much lighter Time Bandits, which might have worked better if the newly introduced character had been one that she had briefly encountered at some point earlier in the story. Some beautiful cinematography inspired by Wyeth, and some stellar performances. Definitely worth seeing.

How living in hell can be survived by living in fantasy.

Amazing, original... and disturbing. For such a beautifully photographed picture it's pretty hard to watch.

When a director is obsessed with Dutch angles and has little to tell this is what happens

Example of how "avant-garde" goes on and on till it becomes in your face, insane depravity. Talented acting, directing, and writing swirl down the tubes with the aforementioned.

Not sure how this ended up on my watchlist. It's not my type of movie so take the 2.5* rating with a grain of salt. I think it's on my list because Gilliam directed 12 Monkeys which I loved. This is a drama fantasy film about a young girls who loses both her parents to drug overdoses, and relies on herself (& her different psyche's) to pass the time. She creates friends and games/stories that she stars in. Then she befriends a mentally ill man who lives next door and they seem to have similar IQ's and personalities, hence they really kick it off. The acting of these is just phenomenal. The really knock it out of the park. It wasn't that bad of a movie, it just wan't from a genre that I'm a fan of.