TIFF Report: Brand Upon The Brain! Review

And apparently, it's all based on half-remembered, and sometimes deliberately error-riddled memories from Maddin's own youth. It all comes together in a visual rush of blurred, half-there images, humorous intertitles, and surreal lo-fi effects that was quite overwhelming at times. But what about those foley artists and castrati?!? Another reason that I doubt this can be much of a movie review is because the screening I attended was so much more than a movie. In an attempt to revitalize silent cinema, the movie itself was silent, with live orchestral accompaniment, foley artists performing all of the sound effects, and the aforementioned castrati (whom Maddin apparently met in a Winnipeg bathhouse) doing a couple of a laments.

As such, the screening was less about the movie for me (I'm something of a Maddin newbie, and so didn't have too many expectations), and more about the entire experience -- and overall, it was a fabulous experience. To hear even the most mundane of the sound effects -- gulls calling in the sky above, clanking chains, the squish of the paint, the sound of a syringe being jabbed into the brain stems of innocent young orphans -- and to glance over and see just how these sounds were being created in concert with the projected image... Well, it added something to the experience that not even the most modern of digital projection theatres with their ultra-mega-audience deafening surround sound systems possess. (And just so you know, celery makes for the most amazing bone-crunching sounds.)

There's an edge to it, because the margin for error is so much higher. Indeed, they had to restart the film because of miscues. But to the credit of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and all those involved in making the film truly take on a life of its own, it went off with nary a hitch once things got going. As far as I know, this is the only time the movie will be screened in such a manner, and so the whole affair was a real treat.

The only downside to the screening was that something of this magnitude practically begs for some Q&A with Maddin (who was quite jovial during the film's introduction) and the movie's cast and crew, but there was none to be had. Unfortunately, the screening started 30 minutes late -- not surprising given the complexity of the undertaking -- and so, once Maddin and Co. had received a standing ovation and some flowers, the entire audience was rushed out of the theatre to get ready for the next event.