From Austria, a quasi-art film treatment of horrific themes that also works as a satire of psychiatry (although just barely). Written and directed by the semi-prolific Christian Frosch, 1996’s TOTAL THERAPY (DIE TOTALE THERAPIE) functions best as a dry run for subsequent films like THE EXPERIMENT/DAS EXPERIMENT (2001) and Frosch’s own SILENT RESIDENT/WEISSE LILIEN (2007), both of which it resembles in quite a few particulars.
Gabi is a severely disturbed young woman whose younger sister Hedwig recommends she spend a couple weeks at Shirvia, a secluded “center for alternative psychodynamic and action-analytic processes” run by a new age guru named Roman Romero (one of several nerdy horror film references cluttering the film—there’s also an establishment called “Cronenberg Clinic”).
This place is marked by gaudily colored rooms and rustic surroundings. Here Gabi is joined by eight other severely screwed-up people both young and old who are given promises to “Remove character traps” and “Find our inner peace” via chanting, screaming and yelling at each other. These nutters are also encouraged to hit pillows, make out with trees and point loaded guns at each other.
Inevitably all the dredged-up trauma and anger turns toxic, resulting in Romero, in the midst of a sexually exploitive therapy session with Gabi, getting stabbed to death in a none-too-symbolic act of “symbolic murder.” Another killing occurs a bit later, followed by a psychotic free-for-all that results in a chase through the forest, a crucifixion, a leap from atop a tall cliff and an ill-advised visit by Gabi’s sister. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t end well, for anyone.
There are lots of scenes here involving numerous people all talking at once, with the sound mix making no effort to distinguish between them. Nor are the performances any help in this respect, as the actors, who include the famed punk singer/composer Blixa Bargeld as Dr. Romero, are competent but undistinguished.
The most striking aspect of this film? A highly dissonant, borderline avant-garde score marked by highly insistent music cues played over banal shots, contrasted by a climactic scene in which a tranquil sermon by Dr. Romero is played over a highly dramatic bit of action. The ultimate effect is highly discordant and off-putting, although that may have been the point.
The film is authentically insane, from the undisciplined handheld visuals of the group encounter sessions (meant to invoke documentary immediacy) to more stately (but equally crazed) shots like the one in which several people are seen doing crazy things at various points in a hallway. Another thing TOTAL THERAPY is, at 125 minutes, is too long.
Vital Statistics
TOTAL THERAPY (DIE TOTALE THERAPIE)
Prisma Film
Director: Christian Frosch
Producer: Heinz Stussak, Michael Seeber
Screenplay: Christian Frosch
Cinematography: Johannes Hammel
Editing: Michael Palm
Cast: Ursula Ofner, Blixa Bargeld, Sophie Rois, Walfriede Schmitt, Haymon M. Buttinger, Roland Jaeger, Hemma Clementi, Claudia Martini, Joey Zimmermann, Lars Rudolph, Sebastian Suba, Eva van Heijningen, Heinz Trixner