WR. Mysteries of the organism (E)

Dusan Makavejev’s collage approach to “Wr. Mysteries of the Organism” effectively connects a disparate collection of themes, styles and ideas, starting with a documentary on controversial Polish born sexologist Wilheim Reich, a panorama of the American sexual revolution of the 60’s and 70’s, and finally, a satire set in the former Yugoslavia on the sexually repressive nature of authoritarian movements. The Reich segment covers the famed psychologists career from his flight from Europe in the late 30’s to his settlement in the United States where he established his research laboratory. His unconventional studies on ‘orgone energy’, coupled with his communist background made him a prime target for McCarthy’s communist witchhunts, resulting in his books being burned and his eventual incarceration and death in prison. Makavejev juxtaposes Reich’s life work with a fictional narrative of a liberated Yugoslavian woman (Milena Dravic), trying to enlighten a politically indocrinated and repressed Russian skater (Vladimir Ilyich) to the Reichian ethos of revolution via free love. In English language with some subtitles (Note: This particular version of “Wr. Mysteries of the Organism” is a modified version specially prepared by Makavejev to comply with British television standards.) See also “The Switchboard operator” (1969), “The Coca Cola kid” (1985).