Review of WR: Mysteries of the Organism (1971) by Andy P — 27 Jun 2008

I decided to watch this to get a taste of Makavejev's films, because I'm curious, and a little afraid, to watch his infamous Sweet Movie. It starts out as a documentary on Wilhelm Reich, who was ostracized for his (then) controversial sexual experiments and findings in America (after he fled Europe), but somewhere around the 20-25 minute mark, it blends into this bizarre amalgamation that cross-cuts between documentary footage of the counterculture movement in NYC, stock footage of Communist propaganda, and a bizarre scripted mini-film involving a Yugoslavian revolutionary and her relationship with an ice-skating Communist (with a really surreal and out-there ending).

It's certainly a product of the early-70's, with it's free love/anti-establishment message. And the looser documentary sections have that wonderful feeling (missing from films nowadays) of maverick filmmakers just observing and filming whats around them, which contrasts with the cinematic and beautifully filmed non-documentary section.

I don't know if I completely get everything about the movie, but I feel like I got the general message, and it's a very interesting watch.