Symbiopsychotaxiplasm Review- By Michael Carlisle

Title: Symbiopsychotaxiplasm
Year: 1968
Director: William Greaves
Country: US
Language: English

The 1960's was a time of great change and great Cinema. With African Americans like Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X, the civil rights movement became a forefront in American culture. The space wars ignited and the first American astronauts were sent to the moon. Intriguing documentaries like Medium Cool and Montery Pop were made to show the wondrous changes that were being made. Society was getting rebellious and as a result, cinema would shift in a unique way. One of the results of this shift is a unique film called Symbiopsychotaxiplasm.

The plot of this picture consists of filmmaker William Greaves shooting a series of screen tests in New York City's Central Park for the two leads of a feature length movie, with the working title of Over the Cliff. Simultaneously, he has a documentary filmmaking crew filming the behind the scenes making of the movie. In addition to seeing these two sets of footage (the film and the film of the film), the viewer also sees footage of a third film crew filming the these two in relation to what is happening overall as they film in the park while real life goes on around them, which in Bill's mind is part of the realism of the movie.

Director William Greaves is making a movie in this movie called Over The Cliff. That film has no plot and not script, just a theme of sexuality and a few samples of scripted dialogue. It is incredibly frustrating for the crew; we can see their anxiety as they critique the director's motives in a brainstorming session. While watching Symbiopsychotaxiplasm one wonders if the crew had any idea about what the documentary about the movie was going to be about (Can any reviewer write about Greaves' film without confusing the reader?) Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is a unique film that might give you a headache if you think about it too much.

Greaves' film is intelligent and thought-provoking, perfectly capturing the essence of the 60's while still running on madness. It's very well edited and thoroughly engaging, each conversation is as exciting as the last. Symbiosychotaxiplasm is a search for truth and meaning, a wild ride of uncertainty and possibly disaster that will take you through multiple realities. Can we define this film as a documentary? Maybe everything is scripted and nothing is real. Maybe everything is real and nothing is scripted.

In conclusion, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm is one of the most unique film experiences you will ever have. There is no picture in the world that even comes close to similarity. A grand manipulation of reality, this film forces us to think outside the box and confront everything we thought we knew about movies. Praise it! 5/5