Be a guru, get rid of yourself! Six people - two self-proclaimed "gurus" (Simon and Sarah) and four volunteers - live in a large house somewhere far from civilization. Gurus come up with regular tasks of varying degrees of idiocy – walking in circles with books on their heads, waving a handkerchief in the wind, hiding in the grass, not looking into each other’s eyes. Such an experiment must, of course, turn into a tragedy or a comedy. The authors of “Project” follow the second path, immediately losing in entertainment and in the degree of influence on the viewer – it is still easier to scare than to laugh. A conversation with the film crew after the premiere of the film at the 38th MIFF clarified a lot in the idea and in the implementation of the "project", but a good film must answer for itself - the director after each show to the viewer will not spend.
So, a company of close friends decided to make a movie that reveals the fashionable theme of modern sects, balancing between “personal growth training” and self-proclaimed religions. The "format" of religion is chosen deliberately abstract - there are no references to either Scientologists or Jehovah's Witnesses - just the idea that anyone with a fair amount of impudence, charisma and means to rent a larger house can declare himself the leader of the Religion of the Spaghetti Monster, even the Modern Project. The filmmakers made the film while living in a big house, as did their characters - in fact, the film's director played the role of the project leader ridiculed in the film itself. This is an interesting double nesting! Alas, the film shows us only the “internal project” – the result of the efforts of the team, and everything is quite predictable – the “subjects” rebel against the “excited” gurus: Simon is expelled from the group, and Sarah joins the group as an equal member. It is funny that having lost formal leaders, the group continues to exist by inertia (as in the famous hypothetical experiment about watered monkeys). The purpose of their existence, the group chooses to build a “creature” out of improvised means – and as a result, they actually do something like a giant rat. Here both projects – and the team shooting the movie, and their heroes, merge into one, because the beast really did in a clean field of improvised materials (and then fought with the fire brigade for a long time because of the natural desire to burn it to the damn mother in the final).
With all the relevance of the topic and the sincere involvement of the group, the movie turned out to be quite painful - most of the scenes of the first half of the film are deliberately drawn out (the opening scene with a marching with books on the head lasts just forever) - of course, to show their absurdity, but after all, in the hall live people are sitting! In the second half, the focus of the narrative is lost - it is unclear whether to sympathize with the exiled leader, or gloat over his misadventures. At some point it seems that the film still tipped over into tragedy, but the lethal outcome turns into comic puff.
It is surprising that the "healing" outcome of the project is still believed - and not only because the heroes went through the "arch", undergoing a spiritual transformation. Just spent a couple of weeks outdoors, changing the scenery. And this, you know, helps as well as antidepressants! And the seemingly crumpled final suddenly "shots" - everyone left, the curtain ... But the garbage has to be cleaned up! Even if you're a supreme guru...