What a Flash! (1972) User Reviews

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[Thorsten_B · 8/10 · 13 September 2008]

A documentary on the flower-power-alternative-post-68-generation. About 40 (more or less young) people enter a big hall, presumably a film studio (in French speaking Canada?). The doors are closed and they are to remain here for 50 hours to interact, discuss, eat, drink, sleep, "create" – whatever they feel like. Drugs are forbidden, and so is sexual intercourse; supposedly, both of these bans are broken, but only the sex is visible. Soon after the doors close, some of the people undress, some complain, some lay down to rest, some go nuts; some perform a theatrical play on the last day of the life of Jesus Christ (this one is obviously encouraged by the film crew which is present all the time). Some engage into a gigantic orgy (two, in fact: one with a "unisex" and one with a "multisex" option). Some want to discuss political matters, which – inevitably – leads to no solutions and no agreements. Some start to cry, some want to leave; but no one actually goes. A band constantly plays music. A couple "marries" - and has it's wedding night in front of the others. The idea that the filmmaker has given each participant is to imagine he is in a spaceship on a trip to the stars - which everyone dying at the end! Therefore, some believe that the whole performance is in fact a trap made up by the establishment to get rid of the "punks" of society. And indeed, in the end these deaths happen, but they are, of course, staged. There is never a second of doubt that each of the "acting" sequences included in the film are something different than the uncontrolled and spontaneous reactions and interactions before and afterward. Some of the guys and gals want to use the setting to display revolt, some play games, some try to rule, some want to obey; but in the end, the hall door opens, all step outside and everyone is happy. But subjective descriptions don't work well with this oddity. It's many things at once: interesting, yet sometimes boring; disappointing, yet sometimes suspenseful; unsurprising, yet sometimes awesome. In short, annoying, but at the same time fascinating.