– Swiss director Marcel Wyss embarks on a journey through psychedelic-assisted therapy in a documentary that combines research and personal essay
Swiss director Marcel Wyss has made documentaries on his relationship with his brother, who died from the consequences of heroin use (2005’s After the Fall), and on cocaine in modern society (2012’s Work Hard Play Hard). Now, he turns the camera on himself and his experimentation with psychedelic drugs for therapeutic purposes in Open My Mind, which has just world-premiered in the SCIENCE section of CPH:DOX.
In his mid-forties, Wyss finds himself in the process of separating from his wife, with their prepubescent daughters wishing he was “happier” and “more spontaneous”. His heroin-addict uncle committed suicide, writing in his goodbye message, “It was the drugs,” and since his brother’s passing, Wyss has developed a fear of death that has manifested itself as hypochondria, which weighs especially heavy on his wife. Nothing specific is wrong with him: he goes to individual therapy alongside couples’ therapy and doesn’t have a diagnosis, but he’s feeling down, constrained and afraid of losing control. In other words, nothing out of the ordinary for a middle-aged, middle-class European man.
After Nixon’s policies halted therapeutic psychedelic research, in recent years, substances such as LSD, psilocybin, mescaline and ayahuasca have again become a subject of study in psychology. Switzerland is a leader in the field, having introduced laws in 2014 that allow for such therapy. But it is strictly controlled, and as pioneering psychiatrist Peter Gasser tells him, he treats patients with difficult disorders, such as depression, trauma and PTSD, with LSD. Those who simply want to improve their lives have to look elsewhere.
So, Wyss goes for a mescaline trial in Basel, consults with a friend who microdoses LSD and magic mushrooms, takes acid in an undisclosed location outside Switzerland in a group setting with a guide, and eventually experiences an ayahuasca ceremony in Ecuador.
His own voice-over leads us through this hybrid structure of research and personal essay. Animated segments by Lorenz Wunderle are elegant, comic-book-style illustrations used to convey fractured states of mind, and are rather symbolic in depicting Wyss’s conclusions and – indeed – the opening of his mind, rather than being aimed at making the film “trippy”. When we see Wyss under the influence of mescaline in Basel, he holds back stylistically: he is filmed classically (in addition to him, David Röthlisberger and Andreas Pfiffner are credited as cinematographers), at a slightly skewed angle, but sound designer Lara Wedekind adds an echo, and the way he talks and seems to feel will be familiar to anyone who has tried psychedelic drugs. Even the ayahuasca ceremony is treated relatively soberly, through blurry shots and jerky cuts by editor Katharina Bhend. The musical score by Mirjam Skal is similarly atmospheric and restrained.
The style truly reflects the autobiographical angle: even after all of the experimenting (the film took three years to make), Wyss is still holding on to control. He says that letting go is his biggest problem, and you can have as many psychedelic experiences as you want, as well as “breakthroughs” and “enlightenments”, but dealing with one’s mental health is a whole life’s work. Assisted therapy with these substances can support this goal, but it’s just a tool – in a way, much like this film itself, which will be relatable to most middle-aged men facing various crises, as well as to their families and friends.
Open My Mind was produced by Switzerland’s Lomotion AG, which also has the international rights, and was co-produced by SRF.
