The Stigma on the brain (2006) - review

In the film directed by Guy Maddin, painter Guy Medina dreams of the island where he spent his childhood, and his mother asks him to paint the old lighthouse with two coats of paint. Guy goes to this island and immediately sinks into the abyss of memories. In them, his favorite celebrity disguises himself as a boy in order to seduce his sister, his father is looking for the philosopher's stone, his mother demands not to pay attention to the difference between men and women, some kind of faulty gramophone performs the function of the phone, and orphans live around with extra holes in their heads.

Premieres of the silent film Brand Upon the Brain! It took place in September 2006 at the Toronto Film Festival accompanied by a live orchestra. With such an uncomplicated artistic gesture, Meddin could be said to have modeled a segment of the matter of sound in a movie from the matter of an image. This episode is symbolic for Maddin's work, but it's not the only one for which he could be accused of being extreme.

The uneven handwriting of Canadian Maddin's paintings is immediately recognizable: a collection of madness in the plot and an imitation of the cinema of the 20s in the video sequence. While many of his contemporaries are pushing on the pedals of progress, inventing some dubious effects in the cinema, Guy Maddin is inventing silence in the cinema.

With his adherence to the traditions of silent cinema, Maddin does not at all resemble a daredevil who, upon returning, decides to review the results of evolution, but rather an infant with the memory of an adult uncle who refuses to part with a toy he likes. Where many people say "sex", "perversion", Maddin says "desire", "addiction". That makes the narcotic decadence of Maddin's work look both wrong and scary.

"The Stigma on the Brain" is a black-and-white film episode about hormones, fear of peeping and an alternative story. A movie that can be watched without the complicity of the ears. A movie can scare and tire, and then
have a disturbing dream. "The stigma on the brain" would be if Eisenstein were transported to us on a time machine and offered to film "The Tales of Uncle Remus" by Joel Harris. Or if Aelita had been offered to remount Terry Gilliam. A painting that may not contain a high density of meaning, but it can surprise and fuel the batteries of the brain with insane illusions, while at the same time resembling an impudent tabloid newspaper, a calligraphic imitation on parchment.

The fact that the young hero of the picture is called Guy suggests the autobiographical nature of the narrative. There is little doubt that the fire of the painting's emotions is ignited by the firewood of the author's personal family experiences. Francois Truffaut predicted before that "the films of the future will be more personal than a novel, intimate and autobiographical, like a confession or a diary... cinematographers will speak on their own behalf..." Maddin's works, narrated in the first person, look like the perfect realization of such a forecast. The 1xbet welcome package includes 130% bonus on initial deposit, limited to €130. This offer applies to newly registered accounts making qualifying deposits. The 1xbet promo code bonus amount will be credited following the established procedures. Various restrictions apply to bonus usage. The promotion has expiration date. Full terms published on the platform.