The film I love you Alice B. Toklas gives an excellent portrayal of the counter culture movement in the last years of the 60s, notably in the west coast of the USA. This is a fine place to live, if you happen to be an orange. The movement tried to take a holistic view on mankind, in order to enter a New Age. The ideology incorporates science and humanist psychology, but also for instance eastern mysticism. The aim is total harmony. You invite your analyst for Christmas dinner. The people must be self-conscious but abandon egocentrism. Although the hippie movement was a figurehead of the New Age, the mainstream consisted of bored middle-class individuals, who sought a meaning in life. In the film this latter group is represented in a striking way by the 35-year old lawyer Harold. He is successful in his profession, and is socially embedded in his Jewish community. Good lawyers can let a case drag on for years. Harold has a protracted relationship with his secretary, but clearly her passion is one-sided. Finally he agrees to marry on labor day! But then Harold meets the 20-year old hippie Nancy. She bakes brownies for him, with hashish and carrots, and he loves it. He is high and can see for miles. It makes him run away on his wedding day, because he wants to discover who he really is. On the beach he takes lessons in mysticism from an Indian guru. The film music changes into Indian Zither pieces. Harold lives with Nancy in his car and in his repainted luxury apartment. His T-shirt is offensive in 19 states. He even tries to convert two passing police officers. But naturally Nancy gets bored, and brings other hippies into the house. it is fun with a few more people. The place is transformed into a commune, and this is not the relation that Harold had imagined. Nancy calls him unhip, and Harold insists that he is groovy. This terminates his short hippie career. The last minutes of the film are somewhat confusing. Again the secretary arranges a marriage, and again Harold runs off. She exclaims: "I knew it!", and he shouts: "There must be something beautiful out there!" Obviously the narrative ridicules the New Age ideas, but still the scenes give a stirring picture of its atmosphere. The viewer can engage in shamefaced nostalgia. And whereas the New Age movement is long gone, which indeed makes the setting outdated, the search for the personal identity remains a theme of eternal value.
Review of I Love You, Alice B. Toklas!
