Three Miles North of Molkolm is probably the first proper experience in a cinema I have had in a long, long time. Although I didn’t like the film all that much I can still admit it had a hold of me with its attention-grabbing cinematography, almost overwhelming soundtrack, and the utterly peculiar things it showcases.

Three Miles North of Molkolm is a documentary about a Swedish festival where people can go to find spiritual fulfillment. Things like sweat lodges, sharing circles, and fire-walking are amongst the activities shown.

I am not entirely sure that this film would work anywhere else than in a cinema or perhaps a sophisticated home theatre. Unlike a lot of documentaries I don’t think it’s suited to watching on DVD on a regular TV. I think you need the huge screen, surround sound, and darkness to truly take it in properly.

It’s not a particularly enjoyable film, despite its worthwhile elements, but rather feels like you have to work to get through it. This isn’t as bad as it sounds, as some films you simply have to put in effort to get what’s intended out of it, but rather a compliment of sorts that it’s worth the effort to appreciate it. I didn’t quite come away with what I expect was the intended overwhelmingly good effect but at least it kept my attention until the end and I didn’t want to walk out.

The festival the film showcases is peculiar, to say the least, to anyone (such as myself) who is completely new to anything like it. I just couldn’t “get it”, no matter how hard the film tried. There’s a rugby player participating in the festival who is basically the representation of most of the audience; he just doesn’t get it, either. He says things like, “What’s the point? All it is is a bunch of people chanting about pain and fear,” that I’m sure the audience is thinking themselves. At the same time, though, that inexperience and unfamiliarity helps to make the film all that more interesting; we get to partially experience something in a film that in all likelihood we will never experience in our own lives.