The Saddest Music in the World (DVD, 2004)

For those times when you really want something "different" to watch, this film will be more than satisfying.

Though this piece is set in the depths of the Great Depression, the sets and style harken back a decade earlier to the surrealistic films of Weimar-era Germany. Instead of a neatly flowing narrative, the plot consists of short snapshots that are gradually tied together. Interspersed are inventive and audacious surprises that generate both laughs and thought.

The acting, intentionally stilted and stylized, fits the film's atmosphere perfectly. One never "cares" for these damaged characters, which isn't the intent. But they hold our attention through the thread of plot that ties them together.

There are some sexual themes and rough language not suitable for pre-teens. This is definitely not to everyone's taste. But the rich allusions to earlier films will make it a treat for movie buffs. A departure from anything produced in several decades, I found it refreshing.

For people with a taste for strange movies, this deserves a place in a DVD collection. Worth a rental for anyone else. It is surely one of the best films ever made about a music contest held in a Canadian brewery.