Guy Maddin is a contemporary Canadian director who has been often lauded for the national distinctiveness of his work. Maddin’s Careful (1992), however, poses as an unrestored German Bergfilm (mountain film) from the early 1930s. This article offers a close reading of Careful and a critical dialogue with commentaries on both the mountain film and discussions of Maddin’s oeuvre. Putting to use transnational perspectives, this analysis of a Canadian director’s appropriation of a hallmark German genre problematizes previous constructions of national identity and national cinema as well as the periodization of film history.

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