Canadian director Guy Maddin makes the most of his distinctive retro style in this exuberant homage to (and/or ironic pastiche of) 1920s avant-garde cinema.

It’s 1933. The depression is in full swing. And a lucrative contest to determine the saddest music in the world is being held in Winnipeg, the “world capital of sorrow.”

Amidst the backdrop of the contest, a convoluted tale of love, lust, betrayal, and redemption spills over into oedipal farce. Secrets are revealed, long-lost lovers reunite, villains get their comeuppance as the strains of melodrama reach a fever pitch.

The Saddest Music in the World will leave you in tears.