Imaginaerum (film)

Thomas Whitman is a 75-year-old former musician who has lapsed into a coma after years of suffering from multi-infarct dementia. As he is clinging to his life while his estranged daughter Gem ponders on signing a do not resuscitate order, Thomas' mind enters a fantasy world where he relives his life as a ten-year-old orphan. After meeting a girl named Ann at the orphanage and acquiring a snow globe containing a dancing figurine named "Arabesque", young Thomas befriends a snowman named "Mr. White", who takes him on a flight to the skies. But while chasing his father Theodore's airplane, Thomas loses his balance and falls into a surreal world bordered by a run-down roller coaster track, which represents his mind and memories. As pieces of the track fall apart, a mechanic, symbolic of Thomas' doctor in the real world, complains about how futile it is to try to repair the track. The doctor looks to a younger Gem for advice who says they should just let it fall apart; this coincides with Gem agreeing to the DNR order in the real world. Thomas meets a younger version of Gem and a 72-year-old Ann, who warn him about Mr. White. He runs to a "dollhouse", where he sees himself and Ann in their 30s, as members of his band Whitman. The elderly Ann once again appears in front of him, warning him that the snowman is evil and is responsible for the loss of his memories.

As he travels to other parts of his past, young Thomas witnesses the simultaneous events of both his father and his older self lamenting the deaths of their wives. Suddenly, Theodore pulls a gun and shoots himself through his head while the older Thomas smashes the Arabesque globe against the wall, resulting in Thomas distancing himself from his daughter. He chases after Gem throughout the dream world as they both age to the present day.

Back in the real world, Gem arrives at Thomas' home, where she encounters Ann. It is revealed that when Thomas and Ann toured together with their band, Thomas' wife was killed in a car accident when Gem was a child. Because Thomas was not around during her childhood, Gem grew up resenting him throughout her life. Ann informs her that the night that Thomas' wife died, Thomas was with her, as he had stopped her from overdosing on drugs at the time, which reminded him too much of his father's suicide. Later, Ann opens a safe in Thomas' study, only to find sheets of paper containing incomprehensible writing. Ann makes Gem realize that in time Thomas grew as bitter as his own father due to their similar pasts. As a result, he pushed her away in order not to hurt her as his father did. Gem realizes that the notes are all of Thomas' memories when he found out about his dementia and that he did care for her after all. She spends the night piecing the sheets together to form a pattern on the floor. When the house experiences a power failure and Gem's cell phone dies, Ann drives Gem to the hospital.

Meanwhile, in his dream world, Thomas rediscovers his memories with Gem and is determined to hold on to them. He confronts Mr. White, who reveals himself as the manifestation of Theodore. During the ensuing roller coaster ride, Thomas relinquishes his grip on his father. In turn, he lets go of his last memories of Theodore, and holds onto those of Gem. He reaches the end of the roller coaster ride and awakens from his coma with Gem and Ann by his bedside. With his last breath, Thomas reconciles with his daughter before passing away.

Gem returns to her father's home to play the grand piano. When she notices a key not playing right, she opens the lid and discovers a brass name plate lodged between the wires, removing it and placing it on the repaired snow globe. The name plate reads "G Em", revealing Gem's name as the keys G and E minor. Thomas mentions throughout the film that the two chords are key to his memories and all he wants is to hear them one last time. He told her that when the chords are played correctly, the Arabesque in the globe will spin. After Gem realizes Thomas really loved her, she plays the chord and the Arabesque spins, symbolizing their reconciliation.

• Marianne Farley as Gem Whitman, age 35
• Quinn Lord as Thomas Whitman, age 10
• Francis-Xavier McCarthy as Thomas Whitman, age 75
• Ilkka Villi as Theodore Whitman / The Snowman
• Joanna Noyes as Ann, age 73
• Keyanna Fielding as Gem Whitman, age 7
• Stéphane Demers as Twisted Tin Soldier
• Ron Lea as Dr. Jansson
• Hélène Robitaille as Arabesque
• Victoria Anne Jung as Ann, age 8
• Elias Toufexis as The Voice of Mr. White
• Madison McAleer as Orphan Girl
• Glenda Braganza as Tom's Nurse

Nightwish members

• Tuomas Holopainen as Thomas Whitman, ages 34 and 47
• Anette Olzon as Ann, age 32
• Marko Hietala as Marcus, age 35
• Emppu Vuorinen as Emil, age 32
• Jukka Nevalainen as Jack, age 34
• Troy Donockley as Magician / Gem's Assistant

The score of the film was officially released by Nuclear Blast on November 9, 2012, on digital and CD formats. The tracks on the score are reinterpretations by Petri Alanko of songs previously released on the band's album Imaginaerum. The songs "Slow, Love, Slow", "Scaretale" and an instrumental version of "I Want My Tears Back" from the Imaginaerum album are also featured in the film.[6]

Metal Hammer commented that the film is "definitely a must-see for Nightwish fans" while saying that "While some scenes feel a little contrived, the cinematography is stunning and the use of Nightwish’s music is tastefully done, with the score complementing the Imaginaerum album perfectly."[14] Blabbermouth stated that "Imaginaerum creates a musical fantasy world in the vein of David Lynch, Neil Gaiman, and Cirque du Soleil. The movie is an innovative mixture of story-telling and music, an extraordinary tale of the power of imagination… and what's ultimately important in life."[15] Juha Rosenqvist of Film-O-Holic gave the film a score of 3 out of 5 stars, also commenting that the movie was done more for the band fans than the overall public, while commenting that the film "is a huge ambition of Nightwish's musical landscape visualization of the mind, where the music video narrative means a tightrope artists stretched to feature-length film frames." The review also commented that the character Thomas Whitman is "a certain level of Tuomas Holopainen's alter ego".[16] About its premiere on North America's Fantasia Festival, Ariel Esteban Cayer stated that the film is "a must for die-hard Nightwish fans, of course, but also recommended to enthusiasts of dark fantasy, sombre musicals, the macabre and the enchanting."[17]

Imaginaerum was released on Blu-ray in Germany on 31 May 2013[4] and in Australia on 22 October 2014. The film was also released in North America on 16 June 2015.[5] The film was released in the UK by High Fliers Films as Imaginaerum - The Other World on 17 October 2016.[18]

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• Official website
• Imaginaerum on Facebook
• Official news page
• Official website at Solar Films
• Imaginaerum at IMDb
• Imaginaerum at Rotten Tomatoes
• (in French) Imaginaerum on Allociné.fr