Sarita Rafferty
There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.
Kostantina Arzoglou
At first I thought I was watching a parody and I laughed to death when the people talked or when they trembled in delirium on the ground.But as the movie evolved I was almost certain that it was in fact a documentary of shorts and this realization was most shocking. Of course I guess everybody has met one or two such "spiritual" people and has come across at least some trendy "spiritual" movement (yoga,tandra,christianity or whatever)that waxes and wanes in time in hers life. That this kind of movements are constantly present though( with different names ) from before WWII (see the excellent documentary "The Magic Mountain") through the hippie movement and the new-age version of our days,really is a proof that the Neanderthals actually never disappeared, they live among us (and they vote),Flying Spaghetti monster save us.Because otherwise it is not possible that Homo Sapiens beings of the 21th century believe to such things. So I give it 10/10 for amazing implicit proof that the Neanderthal is still alive
Redcitykev
There is a favourite quiz question which runs along the lines of "when did the 1960s end?" to which there are two basic answers. Most people will answer 1st January 1970, whilst some will be clever and answer 1st January 1971 - on the grounds that there was no year zero so all decades end on the first year of the next. For others there appears to be a third answer to the question, and that is "Hey, man, the '60s never ended, dig, it is forever 1967 like wow!" The largely white, middle class hippies who inhabit this dog of a movie would seem to belong to this group, as each and everyone of them have, to my mind, ignored the march of time and have stayed utterly rooted in their own groove which started during the first summer of love.Now, that on its own is no reason to take so venomously against this film - a documentary about people caught in their own timewrap is no bad thing, but therein lies the rub. This is not a good film, it is dull, poorly edited and tells you nothing at all about the events at Molkom - why are people attracted to it, what exactly are they hoping to achieve whilst there, etc etc. The interviews are perfunctionary in the extreme - with the notable exception of the Australian guy who, at the start at least, was the only "proper" person there. But even he was a blindly obvious sell-out in the end - if that had been a feature film then the screenwriters would have been taken out and shoot for being so crass in having a character that starts off as a Doubting Thomas and ending up a convert to the cause (whatever cause that may have been!) Even with the happenings themselves there was no explanation - what was all that nonsense about pulling down power on the shores on the lake about, what actually happened in the sauna (oops, sorry, sweat lodge!) and why, yet again, was something so simple as fire walking shown as a deeply spiritual thing to do (white hot coals cause a thin film of sweat to form on the soles of the foot, thus protecting them from the heat, so anyone can firewalk with no special preparation - and, yes I have done it!). Also, did everyone actually end up shagging each other in the big tent or just cuddling - now that would have been worth watching! By the end I was beginning to question my own existence and just why was it I did not find the courage to simply walk on this dross! At the end there was, naturally, captions showing what each individual had done since leaving Molkom, but by the time they were being shown I was off down the street heading back to reality! I cared not a jot about any of them during the film (the class room show off (women with no saliva), the bully (big man who thought he was a king!), the quite mousy type (blonde Swedish girl who had everyone bowing down to her - like wow man!) the weird guy, and, of course, the Australian! Next time I see advertised a film about modern day hippies I will cross the street and let them get on with their thing, man. I know they are doing no harm, but I do not want to waste any more of my hard-earned dosh watching them do no harm.
Peter Moon
I saw this film a few years ago at the Melbourne Film Festival. The audience loved it. I found it hilarious and unforgettable. It's a 'Fish out of Water' Documentary about a young rugby player from Sydney who is sent to a New Age Alternative Lifestyle Festival in Molkom, Sweden. There have been many failed attempts to parody the 'New Age' movement but this film demonstrates once and for all that it parodies itself. It also manages to do it with compassion. I have been waiting for a distributor to pick it up here in Australia and I've tried to buy it on DVD. I notice that it has recently been exhibited in the UK and would love to know how it went. It will be a great shame if this film doesn't find a big audience. Google it and see what the critics had to say.
signup-96
I was lucky enough to see Three Miles North of Molkom at the Edinburgh International Film Festival screening on the 29th June.Along with Encounters at the End of the World, Standard Operating Procedure and To See If I'm Smiling it was one of the most interesting (and funny!) films I saw.The directors Rob and Corrina were kind enough to spend time answering questions after the screening which they answered with honesty and humour.Nick the Australian rugby coach was also there and he's exactly the same in person as he was in the film. Anyone who wears shorts and a t-shirt in Edinburgh in June is a legend in my book.Rob, Corrina and Nick also spent time chatting to people outside who didn't get the chance to ask a question at the screening. Nick did say that Rob and Corrina suggested he do some things for the cameras - the trip in the plane with Swami G is the most obvious but the film doesn't suffer because of this.Hopefully the film will have a wider release so more people can see it as it's worth the price of admission alone to see an instructor ask one of the group to stop him running at them with their mind (I'm not spoiling anything if I say this didn't go entirely according to plan!) Check out www.threemilesnorthofmolkom.com for more information.
