Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One | In the Company of Men

Three layers of documentary action warp your perception in William Greaves’s groovy but twisted cinematic exploration called Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One. Made in 1968 and shot in Central Park, the radical film fused fiction and documentary in new ways and exploded almost every filmmaking convention. On the surface, Symbiopsychotaxiplasm documents a rehearsal between two actors playing bickering lovers, but as the film progresses new layers emerge creating a uniquely thrilling and provocative viewing experience. (72 mins., DCP)

Made the following year, In the Company of Men employs similar techniques of cinematic improvisation and transformative dramatic scenarios. This corporate-sponsored film sees Greaves examining the friction between white foremen and alienated Black workers at a Southern auto plant. Instead of simply presenting their conflicts, Greaves worked with a trained psychodramatist to improvise scenarios that might allow for transformative change. (52 mins., DCP)

See the entire Retrospective: William Greaves lineup.

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Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, courtesy of Janus Films.