# The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

> A baroque Depression-era musical contest turns national sorrow, prosthetic spectacle, and a fractured family into Guy Maddin’s deliriously mournful cinematic fantasia.

Canonical page: https://ember.film/movie/23229

## Facts

- Runtime: 100 min
- Genres: Comedy, Drama, Music
- Director: Guy Maddin
- Cast: Isabella Rossellini, Mark McKinney, Maria de Medeiros, David Fox, Ross McMillan, Louis Negin, Darcy Fehr, Claude Dorge
- TMDB rating: 6.9/10
- IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0366996/

## Ember's analysis

- Pacing: measured
- Intensity: strong
- Complexity: layered
- Violence: mild
- Mood: melancholic, surreal, grotesque, arthouse film night, cult cinema night

## Synopsis

A whimsical exploration of sorrow and music unfolds in a contest like no other.

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- [Taxidermia (2006)](https://ember.film/movie/9441)
- [Léolo (1992)](https://ember.film/movie/6161)
- [See You Up There (2017)](https://ember.film/movie/290119)
- [The Baby of Mâcon (1993)](https://ember.film/movie/2898)
- [Kids in the Hall: Brain Candy (1996)](https://ember.film/movie/11075)
- [Memories of Matsuko (2006)](https://ember.film/movie/19726)
- [The Happiness of the Katakuris (2002)](https://ember.film/movie/9768)
- [I Am Dina (2002)](https://ember.film/movie/22688)
- [Maps to the Stars (2014)](https://ember.film/movie/96769)
- [The Man Who Cried (2000)](https://ember.film/movie/18244)

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