Word: arica
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...Alsop declared, "I have begun to think that the '70s are the very worst years since the history of life began on earth..." The decade seemed to be a convergence of ghastly fashions (ultrasuedes, double-knit bellbottoms and medallions, blow-dry haircuts), exotic self-esteem indulgences (est, Gestalt, bioenergetics, Arica, Reichian therapy, Krishna consciousness) and assorted bad ideas (disco, Erich von Daniken's cosmology) with such larger historical dysfunctions as double-digit inflation, riots on the gas lines, Watergate and the losing of the Vietnam...
...thing, Hanser's film never clearly distinguishes the so-called Arica theory from other forms of religion any mysticism and its attractions for 40,000 American Africans. To be sure, The Forty Day Experience gives the viewer some idea of the theory's principles and how they relate to an individual's day-to-day existence. The film opens with a dazzling shot of the sun above the ocean--replete with rich color schemes of oranges, purples, and reds--as a voice-over observes that "we lose our innocence through psychic pollution," which is, "like environmental pollution, an inevitable result...
THIS OBTRUSIVE RECITING of the Arica metaphysic detracts considerably from the film's documentary texture. Fortunately, this questionable device is partially offset by Hanser's unflinching look at the more excruciating encounter sessions among the trainees. These sequences are integrated into the film's discussion of the three major instincts of man according to the teachings of Arica's guru, a Bolivian named Oscar Ichazo. In one instance, a young man in his 20s recalls a confrontation with his father which prompted him to call his father "stupid." The camera records the young man's acute sense of remorse over...
...this to interpersonal relationships. One shot shows Ichazo seated amidst the rural setting of a Colorado foothill (complete with a waterfall in background) as a trainee praises him: "Oscar's like a brother who's done it for you. I'm grateful." An alumnus of an asylum describes Arica as "the experience of the positive," Thanks to the wondrous effects of this theory and approach to life, of the trainee declares that he can look back on the "experience" of having passed his 33rd birthday in a mental hospital as a "totally necessary" one. If the makers of this film...
Since the film is blatantly aimed at disseminating information about the Arica theory and what potential trainees can expect from it, the film must be considered a qualified success. Ichazo's theory outlines nine mental and physical systems of man, but the film extensively deals with only the three basic instincts. The economy of words and footage used to examine the remaining six instincts is a shrewd way to preserve the brevity of the documentary and thereby insure maximum impact upon its audience. Endowed with a seasoned eye for color and an intuitive feel for pacing, The Forty Day Experiencenever...