Watch the controversial WR: Mysteries of the Organism, which Milos introduced to Roger Ebert at FACETS first retrospective of Dušan Makavejev’s films in 1975. 

 What does the energy harnessed through orgasm have to do with the state of communist Yugoslavia circa 1971? Only counterculture filmmaker extraordinaire Dušan Makavejev has the answers (or the questions). His surreal documentary-fiction collision WR: Mysteries of the Organism begins as an investigation into the life and work of controversial psychologist and philosopher Wilhelm Reich and then explodes into a free-form narrative of a beautiful young Slavic girl’s sexual liberation. Banned upon its release in the director’s homeland, the art-house smash WR is both whimsical and bold in its blending of politics and sexuality. 

 FACETS and founder Milos Stehlik have a long history with Makavejev. Milos and Makavejev were close personal friends, bound by their shared fiercely independent, if not anarchic spirit and desire to challenge traditional notions of filmmaking. Makavejev frequently traveled to Chicago for retrospectives, where in 1975 critic Roger Ebert discovered his work, and in the 1990s FACETS released WR: Mysteries of the Organism on VHS along with five of his other films (you can still get a copy of his 1993 film Gorilla Bathes at Noon from FACETS on DVD here).