I went into this film knowing near nothing about it aside from it being about a group of dancers at a retreat who end up drinking an LSD spiked drink.
And that pretty much sums up the entire film. As I read subsequently, this was a largely improvised production with minimal script. The film is mostly a collection of dance sequences (quite impressively done- the actors are very talented), conversations between the characters (about a large variety of things including sex, abortion, incest, drug use), and a slow decay into madness as the LSD kicks in, with people doing increasingly insane and bizarre things. It features quite impressive long takes that are a sight to behold. The combined use of music, lighting and odd camera angles/editing make it feel like you the viewer are also going on this acid trip with the characters.
On the other hand, I felt the film was really devoid of a plot (and hence much substance), and frankly that's not what the filmmakers were going for. This really is more of an 'experience' than a story per se, and if that's what you're after, I think this does it quite well. What did annoy me was that a lot of the scenes just went on for far too long. There's a collection of interviews at the start of the film that introduce the characters, and some scenes later on in the film that I think overstayed their welcome. I think what they were trying to do with the film was to draw you into it with these long scenes, but I felt a bit lost and alienated by the end of some of them.
So yes, if you want to experience a big screen acid trip, watch this film. Just don't expect much else.
6/10.
And that pretty much sums up the entire film. As I read subsequently, this was a largely improvised production with minimal script. The film is mostly a collection of dance sequences (quite impressively done- the actors are very talented), conversations between the characters (about a large variety of things including sex, abortion, incest, drug use), and a slow decay into madness as the LSD kicks in, with people doing increasingly insane and bizarre things. It features quite impressive long takes that are a sight to behold. The combined use of music, lighting and odd camera angles/editing make it feel like you the viewer are also going on this acid trip with the characters.
On the other hand, I felt the film was really devoid of a plot (and hence much substance), and frankly that's not what the filmmakers were going for. This really is more of an 'experience' than a story per se, and if that's what you're after, I think this does it quite well. What did annoy me was that a lot of the scenes just went on for far too long. There's a collection of interviews at the start of the film that introduce the characters, and some scenes later on in the film that I think overstayed their welcome. I think what they were trying to do with the film was to draw you into it with these long scenes, but I felt a bit lost and alienated by the end of some of them.
So yes, if you want to experience a big screen acid trip, watch this film. Just don't expect much else.
6/10.
