The film is part documentary part concert. It was interesting to learn that Cohen spent many years studying Zen Buddhism in a secluded California monastery. I guess I wasn’t really aware the Cohen was also a poet. In the interviews, Cohen gives insight into his personal life, which seems really lonely in some respects, but it seems as he likes it that way. He’s someone dedicated to his art, who puts everything into it and makes no apologies for doing so. That is something that I admire him for. Definitely pick it up if you get a chance.

With a title like this, how could I not go see this movie? Mafioso in some ways is a lighter take on what it means to be in the Mafia. I consider The Sopranos to be dark comedy. Mafioso is a bit slapstick in parts. It was fun…

Anyway, the first film was Commune, a documentary on the Black Bear commune in Northern California. It was actually the picture for this film that piqued my interest. Footage dates back to the early, heady days when a group of friends decided to flip the bird to modern civilization and head for ze hillz in search of a new way, self sufficient and communing with nature. This is a great dream and ambition for a lot of people. Escaping the grind, dropping out and living off the land. Knut Hamsun’s Nobel Prize winning novel, Growth of the Soil tells a similar story of one man leaving the towns to live in a wild no-mans land. He ends up taming the land, farming it and once everything is going well the folks from the city decide to get involved and mess everything up. You just can’t win! (which coincidentally is the title of another fine book by Jack Black [not the actor, of course]). These commune situations I’ve heard of all seem to meet the same fate. They really are like micro civilizations that rise and fall over night. In the case of Black Bear, the commune grew quickly and the many of the folks realized after awhile they weren’t really down with the free love vibe after all. Most of the people interviewed from the ’70’s were safely back in modern society. One of the leaders of the group was now dying of cancer, he had a great line, he said, “The doctor told me I was dying. And I realized, I wish somebody had told me that a long time ago.”

The second movie of the evening was American Cannibal, a documentary of a pair of struggling TV writers. In some ways this films comments on how ridiculous the reality TV show industry has gotten. The writing team discovers that the TV execs don’t want sit coms, they want reality. So the 2 start brainstorming some ideas and as a goof come up with the idea for American Cannibal, a Survivor-ish show where the possibility of cannibalism is ever present. In a sort of absurdist spirit the 2 start hocking their bizarre reality TV ideas and catch the attention of the Paris Hilton video pornographer, Kevin Blatt (who was at the Cleveland premier along with the filmmakers, Perry Grebin and Michael Nigro). Blatt greenlights Cannibal and the ill-fated shoot begins. After what appears to be a few days the reality show grinds to a halt. One of the contestants passes out from low blood sugar, the host George Gray (I know him from the TV show, What’s With That House?) has to leave the show because SAG is on strike, then the weather gets bad…ultimately they all have to pack their bags and leave. And they never got enough footage for a pilot, so the project is canned.

I was reading somewhere else that some people think the film was not really a documentary at all but a mock-umentary. I can easily see this being the case. I would like to think that the filmmakers were not lying or being intentionally deceptive, but then again I could have been duped. And maybe that was the point of the film. To see if we’d buy it. And with the filmmakers there answering questions they may have been hoping someone would have the balls to ask the question, was this whole thing staged?

The last film of the evening was Darkon, a documentary of a group of individuals who are part of a live action role playing, Dungeons & Dragons type organization that puts a new spin on the term “weekend warrior”. These folks dress in Medieval garb, replete with their own crests, padded weaponry and armor. At first you want to scoff, but the dedication and skill these folks possess is admirable. Perhaps misplaced, but admirable nonetheless. The film tries to make the point that roleplaying has been a kind of therapy or character building experience for these folks whose lives otherwise are boring and monotonous. This idea appears effective in various degrees depending on the individual. I have to say, I liked the way this film was framed. The 2 main characters are juxtaposed and actually have a battle, the winner turns out to be the guy who’s been most successful in life outside of Darkon.

The 2 films framing the night were my faves. They explored escapism fantasies, the idea of losing the identities we typically live with in search of something more, something adventurous, a new way of looking at life and our interactions that defied normalcy. I have to give the participants credit for that and a part of me wishes I had the courage to make such a separation from the modern world. I guess it’s never too late to drop out and stick it to the man!

Strangely enough, the film was actually kind of good. My first impression was that it sucked, but then I chewed on it for awhile and realized there were some pretty nice scenes after all. The opening sequence is one of the best. A group of musicians has gathered in the mountains of Afghanistan to participate in a contest thrown by what appears to be the local heads of state. The contest is to play a note that will shake the mountains. Several musicians make attempts playing exotic instruments or singing or both. Finally one musician does some Tuvan throat singing and the sound reverberates throughout the canyons. He wins.

Without going into too much detail here, the film chronicles Gurdjieff’s travels around Eurasia and the people he meets on the journey. Many drop off but Gurdjieff keeps on the path, eventually ending up in a mountain temple where he witnesses the mystical dances that become important to The Fourth Way later in his life. The dances are extraordinary and elevate the film in a way I didn’t think was possible. It’s worth it for the dances or movements alone to see this film.

There was some Q&A time with the Ohio Gurdjieff Society after the film in another room I would have liked to stay for but I’d already made plans. Too bad, it would have been interesting to engage someone in conversation on such topics….

This looks pretty cool. “Exploring the Frontiers of Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain…”

Noted Quantum Physicist and past presidential hopeful, John Hagelin and hippy rocker Donovan will be there as well as Lynch. Sounds like they are exploring similar concepts to the movie, What the Bleep?, 2004. I liked What the Bleep? a lot, actually, even though the skeptic in me considers some of this stuff hokum. In some respects, I think it’s advisable to look at some of these concepts under the same light as the self help and consciousness expanding notions popular in the New Age movement. There are some pretty whack ideas out there, and most rational folks completely ignore anything that isn’t safely mainstream. And then there are the nihilists…

David Lynch Weekend
May 25-27, 2007
Memorial Day Weekend
Maharishi University of Management
Fairfield, Iowa

Glad I heard this little tidbit of news on the Howard Stern show. Riley is one of the “wack-packers” frequently featured on Howard’s show. Riley also has his own show on Sirius focusing on extraterrestrials and whatnot and Riley’s own abductions at the hands of aliens. Should be pretty cool, and I have Tri-C student ID so it will be $15.

At the Eastern Campus Auditorium Beachland Ballroom, May 5th 4 p.m.