(Canada—2006—directed by Guy Maddin) 

Winnipeg wunderkind Guy Maddin (The Saddest Music in the World) is back with his most spectacularly outrageous and purely enjoyable epic to date. With a hilariously labyrinthine plot that defies description (we can reveal that it contains a crazed mother who wants to restore her youth, a mysterious orphanage, a mad scientist, a Romania-shaped birthmark and an anxiety-ridden hero named Guy) Brand Upon the Brain! is equal parts childhood reminiscence, expressionist horror movie and teen detective serial, all orchestrated by one of the world’s most original and visionary filmmakers. Featuring a remarkable orchestral score and a narration by Isabella Rossellini, Brand Upon the Brain! – one of the year’s most subversively funny films as well as one of the most improbably touching – received a standing ovation before sold-out houses at the Toronto and New York Film Festivals. (95 min.)

“Wonderful and delightful… one of the year's 10 best! Mr. Maddin has ransacked film history and his own delirious imagination to create a work like none other.” –Manohla Dargis, The New York Times