PLUR. Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. The United Nations' Motto? Not quite, it's the motto of party kids and ravers across America.
"Groove," a new independent film produced, written and directed by Greg Harrison, seeks to capture the true pulse of the San Francisco rave scene. The film uncovers the world of word-of-mouth clubs and underground drug and techno culture, bringing the scene to more mainstream audiences.
The film, which was widely received with great success at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, is the first movie to paint a realistic portrait of a rave and its frequenters.
The film centers around four small-time party promoters who discover an abandoned warehouse in the heart of San Francisco and for one night, transform it into a club where party kids and DJs meet to dance to electronic music and take drugs.
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Unlike last year's "Go," which tells a great story, but fails to depict the rave responsible for much of the film's plot, "Groove" focuses on a great rave, rather than an interesting story.
The movie's premise and cinematography are not unique, yet the rave remains a strong, realistic character in its own right, giving audiences a glimpse into a modern counterculture.
The story follows main character David Turner (Hamish Linklater) as he is dragged to his first rave by his brother Colin (Denny Kirkwood) and Colin's girlfriend Harmony (Mackenzie Firgens). At the party, David meets long-time raver Leyla (Lola Glaudini) and is guided on a spiritual voyage induced by the party kid drug of choice, ecstasy.
Although Linklater does a convincing job of looking like a first-timer, other performances are less convincing.
The movie is carried not by these novice actors or their parts, but by the DJs and the music they spin.
DJ Snaz, played by actor and real life DJ Bing Ching, steals the show as a young DJ who opens the event. He "trainwrecks" (interrupts the flow from one record to the next) on his first set, but gets the chance to redeem himself when one DJ must back out because his vinyl was left on the front seat of his car.
Real-life DJs WishFM, who mixed the music from the film on the soundtrack, DJ Polywog, and British superstar John Digweed spin at the party as well.
At about 4 a.m., the party goes sour when local police get wise to the event and turn off the electricity. As all the ravers start to stumble home, Digweed shows up to spin. The promoters are all at a loss at what to do, but as promoter Ernie Townsend says (Steve Van Wormer) "the s-- ain't over till the last record spins." And Digweed still hasn't spun yet.
The promoters hook the equipment back up to a generator and it's on.
One of the last and greatest scenes in the movie is the scene that best captures what it means to be at a rave.
Digweed spins his latest single called "Heaven Scent" as the camera moves to all the main characters dancing in slow motion, as the colorful lights blend in the background, melding the powerful trance music and the dancers into one. This is what the scene is all about.
The movie is an accurate portrayal of the scene for one reason; it was made by people who live and love rave culture. Harrison recruited both money and artistic inspiration from people, like himself, who had been involved in the San Francisco underground scene since the early '90s, when raves first started gaining popularity in the U.S.
The film's authenticity allows moviegoers to experience a rave without actually going, but falls short of offering an entertaining story with in-depth character sketches. ("Groove" will be playing at Charlottesville's Vinegar Hill Theatre starting July 7.)
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