Circle of Power, also known as Mystique, Brainwash and The Naked Weekend, is a 1981 drama thriller film, co-produced by Gary Mehlman, Anthony Quinn and Jeffrey White, and based on the nonfiction book The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled. It stars Yvette Mimieux in one of her final film performances.
| Circle of Power | |
|---|---|
 Executives embracing after participating in "Executive Development Training" | |
| Directed by | Bobby Roth |
| Written by | Beth Sullivan |
| Based on | |
| Produced by | Gary Mehlman Anthony Quinn Jeffrey White |
| Starring | Yvette Mimieux Christopher Allport Cindy Pickett John Considine Walter Olkewicz |
| Cinematography | Affonso Beato |
| Edited by | Gail Yasunaga |
| Music by | Richard Markowitz |
| Distributed by | Media Home Entertainment Qui Productions Televicine International |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Plot
editBianca Ray is the chief executive of a giant corporation called "Mystique". The organization is also known as "Executive Development Training", or EDT.[1] Jack Nilsson is a decent all-American young executive.[2]
Top management executives are required to spend a weekend with Bianca at a hotel, where they are put under psychological pressure.[3] As a prerequisite to the training course, participants must sign a waiver giving the company the release to physically and psychologically abuse the individuals in the course.[2] The participants struggle with their shortcomings, such as obesity and alcoholism.[2] Another individual is a closeted homosexual, and a fourth is a transvestite.[1] At one point in the film, the obese trainee is forced to eat trash and discarded food in front of the other seminar participants.[1] Eventually, the seminar executives and their wives lose their inhibitions later on in the "consciousness-raising" coursework.[4]
Cast
edit- Yvette Mimieux as Bianca Ray
- Christopher Allport as Jack Nilsson
- Cindy Pickett as Lyn Nilsson
- John Considine as Jordan Carelli
- Walter Olkewicz as Buddy Gordon
- Leo Rossi as Chris Morris
- Carmen Argenziano as Tony Annese
Reception
editThe film won a Dramatic Films Award at the 1982 Sundance Film Festival (then called the U.S. Film Festival).[5] Circle of Power played under the title Mystique at the 1981 Chicago International Film Festival.[3]
A review in The New York Times described Circle of Power as an "attack on monolithic belief systems," and referred to it as "a worthwhile movie."[2] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three out of four stars, writing that "...it's an entertaining film with serious intentions." Ebert compared it to events reported in Boston newspapers about a man who died during a seminar, commenting: "Art anticipates life." Ebert questioned the conceit of the film, asking the question: "Could a major corporation get away with this brainwashing?"[3] The authors of the book upon which the film was based concluded their preface by stating: "And please remember as you read -- it's true."[6]
See also
edit- Semi-Tough (1977)
References
edit- ^ a b c Erickson, Hal. "Circle of Power". AllMovie. Archived from the original on July 12, 2009. Retrieved April 20, 2007.
- ^ a b c d Van Gelder, Lawrence (March 2, 1984). "Screen: Corporate Pressure". The New York Times.
- ^ a b c Ebert, Roger (September 28, 1983). "Naked Weekend / Mystique". Chicago Sun-Times.
- ^ "Showtime: Circle of Power". The Chronicle Telegram. Elyria, Ohio. June 2, 1984.
- ^ Bowman, Lisa Marie (January 20, 2018). "Sundance Film Review: Circle of Power (dir by Bobby Roth)". Through the Shattered Lens. Retrieved September 12, 2023.
- ^ Church, Gene; Conrad D. Carnes (1972). The Pit: A Group Encounter Defiled. New York: Outerbridge & Lazard, Inc. p. 161. ISBN 0-87690-087-2.
External links
edit- Circle of Power at IMDb
- Circle of Power at AllMovie
- Review at Stomp Tokyo