Brand Upon the Brain!
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| Brand Upon the Brain! | |
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 Theatrical film poster |
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| Directed by | Guy Maddin |
| Produced by | The Film Company |
| Written by | Guy Maddin George Toles |
| Starring | Sullivan Brown Gretchen Krich Maya Lawson Erik Steffen Maahs Katherine E. Scharhon |
| Music by | Jason Staczek |
| Cinematography | Benjamin Kasulke |
| Release date(s) | September 8, 2006 (Canada) October 15, 2006 (U.S.) |
| Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United States / Canada |
| Language | Silent |
| Official website | |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Brand Upon the Brain! is a 2006 silent film directed by Guy Maddin and produced by The Film Company. It premiered on September 8, 2006, at the Toronto International Film Festival with live accompaniment of the score by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, several foley artists, and a narrator. Shot on location in Seattle, it is Maddin's first film made outside of Canada.
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[edit] Plot
Together with his teenage sister and a horde of orphans, young Guy Maddin lazes away his under-stimulated youth on the mysterious island he will someday inherit. In the lighthouse orphanage in which they all live, their every move is watched over by their overbearing and tyrannical mother while their father, a scientist and inventor, works away secretively in the basement.
When new adoptive parents discover mysterious head wounds on their children, teen detectives Wendy and Chance Hale - brother and sister sleuths known as the "Lightbulb Kids" - visit the island to launch an investigation. Guy is weak-kneed as he falls for Wendy, while Sis is flushed with love for Chance, a love which must be kept from Mother at all costs. As the investigation progresses, the kids are led into the darkest regions of revelation and repression as the terrible secrets of Guy's family are revealed.
[edit] Exhibition notes
As a silent film, "Brand..." does not possess a pre-recorded musical or Foley soundtrack. Instead, it has been presented with live musical accompaniment and narration at the festivals where it has been shown. At its Toronto International Film Festival premiere in September 2006, the original score was performed by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra with narration by Louis Negrin. At the New York Film Festival in October 2006, the film was narrated by actress Isabella Rossellini and accompanied by the Sospeso Collective. Rossellini also narrated at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 2007, where the score was played by the Volkswagen Orchestra. All live orchestra performances were conducted by the score's composer, Jason Staczek.
In June 2007 a version of the film with recorded soundtrack and narration by Rossellini opened in limited theatrical release.
[edit] Critical Reception
"Brand Upon the Brain!" currently has a 93% T-Meter rating and 100% Top Critic rating on RottenTomatoes.com[1] and a rating of 79/100 on the aggregration site Metacritic[2].
Described in such terms as "a phantasmagoric story that could be a collaboration between Edgar Allan Poe and Salvador Dali"[3] by Roger Ebert and "a feverishly imaginative Freudian vampire film"[4] by Carrie Rickey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the film is frequently described as 'experimental' due to its unusual structure and style. Some critics strongly imply that its appeal is not particularly mainstream[3]. Negative criticisms of "Brand..." also focus on the film's unique design, but point out the wearying quality of the chaotic parade of different images in Maddin's "hyper-aggressive visual style"[5] and the potentially gimmicky nature of the melodramatic themes of teenage lesbianism and voyeurism :
Familial melodrama absurdly slides into psychosexual misadventures with the entrance of a harp-playing teen detective, who disguises herself as her own twin brother (gender-bent lust!) while investigating the strange holes found in the heads of all the orphans (Cronenbergian penetration!). Vampirism, organ harvesting, Lord of the Flies primalism, and monstrous human resurrections soon bubble up from thick swamps of repression and secrecy. Seriously though, would any of this be half as outrageous without the voyeuristic jollies of staring at famous people in the flesh, each wishing aloud for a little keyhole to spy on two nubile lesbian lovers?[6]
[edit] Awards
The film received a nomination for Best Visual Design at the 2008 Chlotrudis Awards[7], although the award was eventually split between Laberinto del Fauno and Paprika.
[edit] References
- ^ Brand Upon the Brain at RottenTomatoes.com, retrieved May 1, 2008
- ^ Brand Upon the Brain at Metacritic, retrieved May 1, 2008
- ^ a b Robert Ebert's review of Brand upon the Brain! from the Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved May 1, 2008
- '^ 'Now grown he returns to explore his twisted roots', review of Brand Upon the Brain! by Carrie Rickey in the Philadelphia Inquirer, published June 15, 2007, retrieved May 1, 2008
- ^ Boston Globe review of Brand Upon the Brain! written by Ty Burr, published June 29, 2007, retrieved May 1, 2008
- ^ Village Voice review of Brand Upon the Brain by Aaron Hillis, published May 1, 2007, retrieved May 1, 2008
- ^ Awards for Brand Upon the Brain! at the IMDB, retrieved May 1, 2008
[edit] External links
- Brand Upon the Brain! at The Film Company
- Brand Upon the Brain! at the Internet Movie Database
- Brand Upon the Brain! at Allmovie
- Brand Upon the Brain! at Rotten Tomatoes
- Brand Upon the Brain! at MetaCritic
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