Brand Upon the Brain! in Boston

Brand Upon the Brain! will screen at the Brattle between June 29 and July 5. Check the calendar for times.

Chicagoist whet our appetites for the latest wild surprise from director Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World) – the black-and-white movie Brand Upon the Brain!.

In Chicago, the movie was shown with, according to Chicagoist, "A live 11-piece orchestra, a castrato, three sound effects artists, and Crispin Glover narrating the proceedings in person." We're not getting Crispin Glover in the version showing at the Brattle, or any of the live music, but the movie is has a score in the style of the silent film and is narrated by Isabella Rossellini.

Maddin gets close to his material by giving one of the main character his own name. Guy, seen as a grown man and a little boy, grows up in an isolated lighthouse/orphanage that is riddled with Freudian sexual obsessions, not to mention funny goings-on that pique the interest of teenage detectives.

But the plot seems to be an excuse for bringing back the techniques of silent filmmaking. The movie was shot in 8mm, which makes it look like it was found in a dusty basement, and Maddin employs hyperbolic titles and masking/shadow techniques found in the best silents.