GAYLETTER

Crystal Fairy & The Magical Cactus and 2012 (I just love saying the full title) is one of those films I can watch over and over again. A few weeks ago I had my first experience with psychedelics, so  last weekend I was super excited to re-watch it (a mescaline trip is a central part of the plot). The film stars Michael Cera as a young arrogant American traveling through Chile, and Gaby Hoffmann as a maternal, carefree girl who he unintentionally invites to join him and his three Chilean friends on an adventure to a remote beach to try a local hallucinogen — the mescaline-bearing San Pedro cactus. The film’s director Sebastián Silva based the film on a real life encounter, he calls it “a story about the birth of compassion in someone’s life.” That’s a pretty spot-on description for the film. Its takeaway is simple — underneath all our stupid layers we all want the same thing — to be seen and understood. The film gets to this conclusion in a very natural, entertaining way. It’s short, sparse, easily digestible — like all the best trips should be.  —tom