dir. Robert Cannan and Corinna McFarlane

Cert. 15, 107mins, DVD release 25 January



MovieMail synopsis:

The title of this documentary refers to Angsbacka, a small community in Sweden where hundreds of people gather for the annual 'No Mind Festival', a smorgasbord of spiritual workshops, tantric sessions and other New Age fun and games.



The directors zero in on a small group of attendees: Siddharta the musclebound Swedish harbourmaster, Mervi the menopausal Finn (who hasn't produced saliva for 15 years), Ljus the guileless Hawaiian nature boy, and Nick the bluff Australian rugby coach who finds himself in Angsbacka by accident.



Nick acts as our sceptical guide, skewering the pretensions of this "bunch of tree huggers" (and, yes, actual embracing of trees does feature). But somewhere in amongst the sweat lodges and psychic defence classes, our Aussie chum begins to show signs of going native.



Are we watching a tribe of credulous hippies trying to get laid, or a group of vulnerable souls hoping to connect? The film makes no judgements, but treats its family of holy fools with much affection.