Set three miles north of Molkom in the beautiful Swedish woodlands of Ängsbacka, debut directors Robert Cannan and Corinna Villari-Mcfarlane’s documentary about the annual No Mind Festival is both hilarious and heart-warming.

We view tree hugging, shamanism, walking over hot coals and other new age shenanigans through the wonderfully cynical eyes of Nick – a rugby loving Aussie who happened to tag along thinking he was going to find the Swedish equivalent of Glastonbury, “They’ve all come here to sing and chant – And I hate it”.

The group we observe includes Siddhartha, a Scandinavian alpha male in search of a spouse, Ljus, a Pan-like hippy who was raised by goats; “All my friends were animals”, and Regina, a Swedish actress escaping the press.

Whilst the comedy centers around the general hippy-dippiness on show, the film observes its protagonists sensitively, most of whom are damaged souls trying to deal with the realities of modern life.  Among those in the group who have come to Ängsbacka to ‘sort their heads out’, are Peter who arrives with his children and is considering ending his marriage and Mervi, a Finnish grandmother trying to find meaning in spiritual practice - clearly the most vulnerable of the group.  One of the film’s strengths is it demonstrates that a wide range of people within society are now interested in spirituality and self-development, not just the hippy stereotype.

The comedy and pathos meet quite literally head on when the group are participating in a force field building exercise where the teacher runs at the group to be rebuffed by their energies.  The hapless Mervi find herself lying in a bloodied heap however after the teacher charges into the group and, finding no resistance, knocks her senseless. The scene is slightly disturbing and we are reassured to find that Mervi is not seriously injured.  It was brave of the filmmakers to include such a scene as it touches on questionable aspects of new age methods, showing where practices can go badly wrong. 

By the time we reach the final group exercise, a tantric sex “love in”, Nick’s cynicism has all but melted and each character seems to have undergone a genuine epiphany seeming more at peace with themselves and each other.  There is an honest feeling of camaraderie amongst the group which is quite different from that displayed in our competition based reality TV shows.  One is left with the feeling that although many of the practices seem outlandish, the characters have gained not necessarily by finding the answers to their life problems, but just by going through this two week journey. And perhaps most importantly, by going through that journey together.

Just what they have gained and whether the experience will be lasting we don’t know. The film is a joyful presentation of alternative pastimes that we all might benefit from in our time-poor stressed out lives.  If you feel like getting in touch with your inner power animal or doing some primal screaming then Three Miles North of Molkom is for you and will leave you hugely entertained.  Like Nick, even the directors found love in Ängsbacka, with each other.  They set out as friends and returned as an item so if that’s not recommendation enough of the film’s feel-good factor then I don’t know what is.

Three Miles North of Molkom is on general release in cinemas in the UK and Republic of Ireland