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Brand Upon the Brain

Play trailer Poster for Brand Upon the Brain 2006,  1h 35m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist 91% 57 Reviews Tomatometer 88% 2,500+ Ratings Popcornmeter
91% Tomatometer 57 Reviews 88% Popcornmeter 2,500+ Ratings
Guy returns to his childhood home on an abandoned Canadian island to paint a lighthouse his parents used as an orphanage.
Brand Upon the Brain

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A bizarre, compelling spectacle that invests its absurd plot with heartfelt sincerety, Brand Upon the Brain! is a unique cinematic experience.

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Critics Reviews

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Chase Hutchinson Seattle Times Sep 6, 2025
It’s an audaciously experimental, often terrifying and always evocative encapsulation of memory that boldly dances between genres while remaining entirely its own. Go to Full Review
Kenneth Turan Los Angeles Times Oct 17, 2014
The director's form of genial cinematic dementia is guaranteed not to be to all tastes at all times, but those who are looking for something strange and different will feel right at home. Go to Full Review
John Monaghan Detroit Free Press Jul 27, 2007
3/4
For me it captures Maddin at his loopiest and most inspired. Go to Full Review
David Lamble Bay Area Reporter May 21, 2020
One of the best things about Brand Upon the Brain! is that it doesn't set off that dreaded snooze alarm... Go to Full Review
Dorothy Woodend The Tyee (British Columbia) Aug 23, 2017
It's a little spastic, a little dreamy, terribly demented. . .not unlike the director himself. It's also visually and aurally stunning. Go to Full Review
Leonard Klady Screen International Oct 17, 2014
It is breathlessly preposterous at times but stays clear of arch parody, allowing audiences to be unabashedly part of the antics. Go to Full Review
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Brand Upon the Brain

My Rating

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Cast & Crew

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Guy Maddin

Director

Isabella Rossellini

Narrator

David Armo

Orphan

Sullivan Brown

Young Guy Maddin

Maya Lawson

Sis

Katherine E. Scharhon

Chance Hale

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Brand Upon the Brain

Brand Upon the Brain (2006) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Guy returns to his childhood home on an abandoned Canadian island to paint a lighthouse his parents used as an orphanage.
Director
Guy Maddin
Producer
Amy Jacobson, Gregg Lachow
Screenwriter
Guy Maddin, George Toles
Production Co
The Film Company
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (DVD)
Aug 12, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA)
$227.1K
Runtime
1h 35m
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