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Guy Madden's "Brand Upon the Brain!"

Last night I saw Guy Madden's new film Brand Upon the Brain!, and it was really one my favorite cinematic experiences. The entire film was shot in distorted and bleached black and white, and it was entirely silent--complete with cornball titles and captions for dialogue--each with an exclamatory! It was accompanied by a live orchestra providing the score, a live "interlocutor" (as she was referred to) for narration, a live castrato singing parts of the score, and a live foley (great new word)--which is a set of performers that, with various props, provided live sound effects. Walking upstairs, water splashes, etc. It really was an amazing show.

BUT I bring it up here because it was extraordinarily dream-like, and the plot was a virtual celebration of Freudian obsession and dependency. Evil doting mother in love with son, evil mad scientist father experimentingon children, sister doubling as mother having sex with father, continually revisiting a primal scene. The whole shebang. Even the title; I think Madden is riffing on the very concept of Freudian thought, and its unavoidable presence and influence since.

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This page contains a single entry from the blog posted on May 12, 2007 11:54 AM.

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