Brand Upon The Brain!: Canada's Guy Maddin continues his lonely effort to keep the spirit of silent films alive with this very Grimm fairy tale about a man who returns to the lighthouse where he grew up and is caught in a hurricane of repressed memories about his crazy mother, his mad-scientist father and the orphanage they ran. Just as fascinating as the memories themselves is the way they bubble to the surface, the scratchy black-and-white images whirling past us like random-firing synapses.
- Kent Williams
Smart People: A widowed professor (Dennis Quaid) finds a new love (Sarah Jessica Parker) and deals with his dysfunctional family. The language is often delicious, and the performances are good, but the film fails to get a fire going among its characters.
- Marjorie Baumgarten
