Brand Upon the Brain! (2007)

This is How Movies Should Be Made

A Disappointing Continuation

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An autobiographical rampage through film history, crime novels, and the mysteries of the flesh, Guy Maddins new film is said to bear many resemblances to his own experiences during his childhood. At least that's what Mr. Maddin was telling us unsuspecting victims before the screening commenced. If that is indeed the truth, Maddin must have started abusing LSD at a very tender age, which must have in succession lead to a severe personality disorder. But what is truth in the filmic universe of Guy Maddin, and what is fiction? So far, his films have been located somewhere in the vast space between dream and reality, a reality that is either part of someone's dream, or a fairy-tale that is situated in a grim reality. "Brand upon the Brain!" tends toward the latter, with a good dose of children's nightmares thrown into the mix. Young Guy is raised with his sister on a mysterious island by a possessive mother and an absent father. The only company he has are the kids from his parents' orphanage who also live in the lighthouse that serves as the mythical center of his everyday life between nightmare and fantasy. But when one day Guy falls in love with his childhood heroes, two siblings working as undercover detectives who suddenly appear on the island, the real problems of adolescence have just begun. What follows is a mix between the trashy horror films and the grand melodramas of longing and unfulfilled desire which were churned out by Hollywood en masse during the 1930s, and a bunch of sexual irritations that could have proved too complicated even for the young John Waters. Maddin's recycling of cinematic conventions continues, and it seems that he has been further inspired by avant-garde films like Austrian Martin Arnold's take on representation and identity in old Hollywood in his extraordinary "Alone. Life Wastes Andy Hardy" (1997). Sounds like something you shouldn't miss? Ever since his groundbreaking first feature "Tales from the Gimli Hospital" (1988), Maddin has given us one delightful work after another, pairing a WWI drama with his silent aesthetics in "Archangel" (1990) or trying his hand at a comedy set during the great depression in "The Saddest Music in the World" (2003). Even his reinterpretation of Fritz Lang's "Metropolis" (1926) in his short film "The Heart of the World" (2000) was not only a crazy homage to the old master's visionary work, but in its incredibly inventive, witty and self-assured sampling and restructuring of events, a gift for every cinéaste and a landmark of its own. "Brand upon the Brain!" didn't work nearly as well for me as most of his other work, with a convoluted plot and a flashy and surreal editing and camera-work that was an unhealthy mix of MTV-born style without substance, paired with a lot of special effects that were used for no apparent reason. I constantly felt dislocated, perplexed, and at my wits' end, in a film that didn't make any sense while shuffling my senses. Of course this isn't a bad thing in itself, and maybe it was Maddin's intention to put a brand on our brains, and yes, childhood can be at times gruesome and without any sense. But the reminiscences presented in this film resemble a kid either raised by Count Dracula and The Wolf Man, or inextricably caught up in a web of his own imagination. Is the film unhealthy? Yes. Is it fascinating and funny? Only occasionally. Maybe it would have proved the best solution if Maddin had assembled the numerous vignettes into a set of short films that could have thematically complemented each other. Before the screening Maddin also explained that he wasn't sure if the film worked on its own. Planned and constructed as a live event, its festival premiere was at the "Berliner Staatsoper", where one could experience the film as Maddin had intended it to be seen: accompanied by a live orchestra, a SFX crew and the voice and presence of Isabella Rossellinni who serves as a kind of narrator to the story. Unfortunately, everybody wasn't able to witness it in this form, and as a screening alone, the presentation wasn't engaging enough to be able to demand my full attention. Two minutes before the end of the film I had to leave the theater for the bathroom. At least that served for a bit of release and satisfaction. Maddin's proposition that one could hunt him down personally afterwards if one didn't like the film, would have probably meant too great a loss of an artist whose spirit is nevertheless still very much needed.

I really had no idea how I would react to this movie. I am fully aware of what Guy Maddin is capable of and that his films are anything but ordinary. My one fear coming into this movie was that the story wasn't going to be good enough to really grab hold of me. Within the first 10 or 15 minutes I was hooked. I have been very impressed with his technical skills thus far and this is no exception. The major difference here is that the story is so compelling. There are some flaws like the narration and I thought the ending could have been shorter, but overall I thought this was a fantastic production. It pays great homage to the silent era, in particular to some of Fritz Lang and F.W. Murnau's work. Like most Maddin films, this is certainly not for everyone. Only those who are aware of what he does or are extremely open to new cinema experiences should venture out and watch this one.

Brand Upon the Brain! is Guy Maddin's 2nd film in an autobiographical trilogy, which started with "Cowards Bend the Knee" (2003) and ended with "My Winnipeg" (2007).I have been a fan of Maddin for a long time and absolutely loved The Saddest Music in the World (2003) but Brand Upon the Brain! is by far the best film I have seen by him (I have yet to see My Winnipeg which also got rave reviews).Maddin is one of the few directors who still makes silent films. This film is in fact only partly silent. There was a short time when silent films had soundtracks (music and sound effects), and Maddin does the same thing here. He also uses a narrator, but they where sometimes used at the time of the silent films (then live), especially in Japan.The film is pure surrealism. It is autobiographical in the same way as Kafka was in his books. It has the humor of Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet and the horror of David Lynch. It is, in a nutshell, insane and amazing. Strongly recommended to anyone interested in Avant-Garde cinema.

I didn't know this was a silent movie with narration. I don't care for silent movies - the corny humor, flickering lighting and film, etc. I'm sure that attributes to the low score I assigned it. It was about chapter 8 before I found any interest in this story and had I had popcorn I may have thrown it at the screen. Maybe this appeals to the sci-fi crowd? The only thing missing was a zombie scene and a brain transplant. I went with two other people on a Friday night and there were a total of 6 people in the entire theater. Isabella Rosselinni narrated this movie - the one enjoyable aspect of the movie. No one left commenting how much they enjoyed this nor appreciated the unusual approach to telling this story. I cannot recommend this movie.