Gambling, Gods and LSD

Peter Mettler, Switzerland, Canada, 2002o

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vBack

Filmmaker Peter Mettler’s quest for transcendence becomes a three-hour trip across countries and cultures. His journey takes him from an evangelical gathering at an airport hotel to a demolition crew in Las Vegas, from the daily routine of trackers in the Nevada desert to urban life in Switzerland and, finally, all the way to India, where technology and spirituality have found a precarious mode of coexistence. But no matter where Mettler goes, he always finds the same deep sense of yearning – for states of ecstasy and for security in an uncertain world.

Veteran Canadian experimentalist Peter Mettler here conducts an ambitious, intriguing and exhaustingly vast personal journey of discovery into liminal states of ecstasy and transcendence, venturing across north America from Toronto to the Nevada desert, and then on to Switzerland and Kerala. (Excerpt)

Peter Bradshaw

An extended meditation on what humans will do to reach transcendent states, visionary helmer Peter Mettler’s latest effort leaps from Swiss junkies to casino hounds and sexual adventurers in Vegas. The lovingly shot, three-hour pic is probably too leisurely for impatient viewers, but – as in animated Waking Life, which it philosophically resembles – the accumulation of arresting imagery, spooky music, and thoughtful language weaves a hypnotic spell of its own. (Excerpt)

Ken Eisner

Um die drei im Titel genannten Phänomene sowie benachbarte Erscheinungen (Porno, Pudelrennen usw.) zu erforschen, ist Peter Mettler fast zwei Jahre durch die Welt gereist und zieht bei der Verarbeitung seines Materials alle audiovisuellen Register: Bilder, Töne, Musik werden übereinandergeschichtet, verdichtet, zerdehnt und verfremdet, um unsere Wahrnehmungsgewohnheiten aufzulösen. Die spirituelle Sinnsuche der diversen Protagonistinnen und Protagonisten spiegelt sich in der Sinnstiftung, die wir beim Erleben dieses epischen, visionären und experimentellen Filmtrips oft selbst leisten – oder es auch lassen. Ein faszinierendes und einzigartiges Werk, das in bester Bild- und Tonqualität genossen werden will. (Auszug)

Michel Bodmer

Galleryo

Practical Dreamers: Conversations With Movie Artists, 4/30/2008
All rights reserved Practical Dreamers: Conversations With Movie Artists. Provided by Practical Dreamers: Conversations With Movie Artists Archiv
11/30/2002
All rights reserved Filmbulletin. Provided by Filmbulletin Archiv
Schnitt, 10/1/2003
All rights reserved Schnitt. Provided by Schnitt Archiv
artfilm.ch, 6/30/2002
All rights reserved artfilm.ch. Provided by artfilm.ch Archiv
Peter Mettler reflects on his filmmaking process
/ DOCMA
en / 6/3/2018 / 32‘24‘‘

Fred Frith: "Gambling, Gods and LSD" (from the soundtrack)
/ Fred Frith
en / 9/4/2018 / 14‘20‘‘

Peter Mettler présente "Gambling, Gods and LSD"
Peter Mettler / Cinémathèque suisse
de / 11/15/2016 / 33‘14‘‘

Sternstunde Philosophie: Über Rausch und Ekstase
/ SRF
de / 5/10/2019 / 105‘11‘‘

Movie Datao

Genre
Documentary 
Running time
180 Min.
Original language
English
Ratings
cccccccccc
ØYour rating7.0/10
IMDB user:
7.0 (621)
Cinefile-User:
< 3 votes
Critics:
< 3 votes

Cast & Crewo

Peter MettlerDirected by
Peter MettlerScreenplay
Peter MettlerDirector of photography
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Bonuso

iVideo
Peter Mettler reflects on his filmmaking process
DOCMA, en , 32‘24‘‘
s
Fred Frith: "Gambling, Gods and LSD" (from the soundtrack)
Fred Frith, en , 14‘20‘‘
s
Peter Mettler présente "Gambling, Gods and LSD"
Cinémathèque suisse, de , 33‘14‘‘
s
Sternstunde Philosophie: Über Rausch und Ekstase
SRF, de , 105‘11‘‘
s
gText
An in-depth conversation with Peter Mettler
Practical Dreamers: Conversations With Movie Artists / Mike Hoolboom
s
Review Filmbulletin
Pierre Lachat
s
Review Schnitt
Frank Brenner
s
Interview mit Regisseur Peter Mettler
artfilm.ch / Marcy Goldberg
s
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