Last night, in a unexpected turn of events, I (actually ran) and saw Guy Madden’s 35mm b&w film Brand Upon The Brain!, part of the Portland Lesbian and Gay Film Festival at Cinema 21 in NW Portland. It was amazing. Guy is sort of the David Lynch of Canada and the film has won the U.S. National Film Critics award TWICE for best U.S. experimental film of the year. Anyway, I fell in love with the experience it gave me. It left me dying to be a part of something similar. Let me go into more detail.
The movie, performance rather, was incredible. At it’s heart it is a silent film from 2006, although looking like an old 1940’s piece, about a boy named Guy who goes to visit his mother. She lives on an island, hysterically peering over the children from the lighthouse, where she takes care of orphans and Guy’s father, a scientist, works hours upon hours inventing in the basement. His father uses a family ring to suck out “nectar” from the orphans in order to move forward with his age-defying experiments. It’s a story about weight, it’s a story about love, and it’s a story about overcoming parental forces and allowing yourself to move on from their boundaries.
The version I saw included a small chamber ensemble, a 3 person live foley creation, a castrato (kinda), and narration by Stephen Malkmus. The minimalist-style original score was written by Seattle composer Jason Staczek and delicately matched the mood of the film, both dramatic and somber (quite similar to one of my all-time favorites Max Richter). The players performed beautifully and I can only pray that one day I can be a composer who gets the chance to match the caliber of the written score, let alone the entire experience.
The foley artists were fabulous as well. It was freaking incredible and inspiring to watch them perform and I’ve never seen anything quite like it. They used some of the most tactical approaches to creating the sounds of paintbrushes, pitter patter of steps on a staircase, books clapping closed, the ocean, eerie night freakyness, and out-of-this-world-cinematic-craziness exploitation. I was in awe. I couldn’t decide which to watch, the film or the musicians or the foley artists or Stephen. Unbelievable!
Stephen Malkumus was an interesting touch. It was pretty “cool” to see him take part in this even but it kinda felt like he was telling jokes the whole time — not far off from the lines in the narration which are quite humorous — but I think today’s performance with dry-toned Calvin Johnson might’ve been a better fit. Nevertheless, it was an experience that will live inside and inspire me for a long, long time.