It’s a common belief that people look for fantasy entertainment during stressful, depressing times, but Matthew Rankin’s deeply surreal film The Twentieth Century would probably be satisfying to watch at any time. Well, satisfying to anyone who can appreciate an absurd, hilarious, heavily stylized “bio-pic” based on the century-year-old diaries of a Canadian prime minister.

As most Americans probably don’t know, William Lyon McKenzie King served as Canada’s PM for three non-consecutive terms in the 1920s and 30s, and is known for being a solid, if dull, statesman. For his audacious debut feature, Rankin created a film very loosely based on King’s private journal musings. Many critics have compared the result to the dark, fantastical work of fellow Winnipeg native Guy Maddin and to Monty Python, which makes sense. I’d add that The Twentieth Century is a little like a visually stunning episode of Drunk History, if the narrators dropped acid instead of drinking alcohol and Wes Anderson (also on acid) were the cinematographer. It’s full of references to historical Canadian figures and events, which invite multiple visits to Wikipedia. Or not, if viewers just want to let the film wash over them in hallucinatory waves. It obvious to anyone, though, that Rankin repeatedly pokes at Canadian traits and identity throughout the film, often its funniest bits.

The action begins in Toronto in 1899, as young candidate King (Dan Beirne, all in with this role) campaigns at the Hospital for Defective Children. (King didn’t actually run for PM until 1921, but that’s the least of the film’s liberties.) His father (Richard Jutras), in debt because he has financed his son’s campaign, has been abandoned by his wife, King’s ailing, overbearing mother (Louis Negin, in one of the film’s several cross-gender roles). The young man falls for the beautiful, unattainable woman of his mother’s (literal) dreams, though it’s the latter’s long-suffering nurse (Sarianne Cormier) who is clearly smitten with him.

A persnickety, upstanding sort — except for a shameful fetish – King is clearly a man under pressure.

Under the supervision of a John Cleese-like Justice Anderson (Trevor Anderson), King takes part in Tests of Leadership, along with the other candidates. They compete in ribbon-cutting, leg-wrestling, (the wonderfully Canadian) waiting your turn, tree identification and baby seal clubbing, among other skills. The last event gets pretty bloody, as do a few other scenes, contributing to The Twentieth Century’s dark tinge.

The film is divided into chapters, as King travels to different cities including Vancouver, where a sadistic doctor subjects him to A Clockwork Orange-type conditioning to overcome his fetish. He’s also fitted with an apparatus that sounds an alarm when it “detects the slightest disturbance in his loins.” (Needless to say, this will result in humiliation.) There’s also a tense situation in Quebec to contend with, along with the Boer War and the country’s split between its supporters and detractors. None of this stops King from pursuing his ambition to steer Canada through the upheavals of the new century.

Naughty jokes and homoerotic references are sprinkled throughout the film, along with many mentions of maple-walnut ice cream. Stark animation, minimalistic sets and portentous signs give the film its specific look, reminiscent of German Expressionism and Russian propaganda films. The result is a unique, whimsical take on a historical figure and Canadian culture that’s ultimately all just a sh*t tonne of fun.

The Twentieth Century is available on streaming platforms on Friday, December 11.

—Marina Zogbi