Review of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) by Joe L — 24 Jun 2009

An amazing meta-documentary from 1968 that feels completely fresh - clearly a major influence on soderberg's style. seeing this film leads me to appreciate his film 'full frontal' all the more.

director william greaves embarks on an experiment designed to test the patience of both the actors and the crew of a film shoot in central park. a separate camera crew documents the conflicts between director, crew, and cast, but not in a superficial way: members of the crew are brilliantly articulate about their sudden awareness of their role in greaves' art - which leads to spirited debates about the nature of observation, acting, performance, direction, and depiction.

would be nothing without its fantastic editing and use of split screen. a must see for anyone interested in dogme 95, improvisational storytelling, and experimental film.