WR: Mysteries of The Organism

Director: Dušan Makavejev

1971 / 85min / 35mm

Part documentary, part fiction, an all riotous, rebellious eros, Makavejev’s film—“A hilarious, highly erotic political comedy” [Amos Vogel, Film as a Subversive Art]—starts as an inquiry into Wilhelm Reich’s controversial theories on the connection between political and sexual liberation, then plunges into the gonzo tale of a Yugoslavian hairdresser’s torrid affair with a Russian figure skater, with a visit to transgender Warhol Superstar Jackie Curtis and other equally unexpected digressions along the way.

“WR: Mysteries Of The Organism offers a cogent look at both sexual freedom and fear of sex in both 35mm Belgrade and 16mm Manhattan, suggesting how Eastern European cinema may have been more radically advanced at the time than its Western counterparts.” —Jonathan Rosenbaum

Post-screening conversation with writer Jonathan Rosenbaum and filmmaker Michael Almereyda on Saturday, January 18th