Magic Medicine

Can magic mushrooms provide the key to treating depression? This documentary follows a clinical test where doctors monitor the effects of psychedelics on a group of subjects suffering from mental health issues. It's both fascinating and heartbreaking to hear the volunteers' stories, but there's hope that the experiment will provide some answers as to why they feel the way they do. The process is interesting, yielding both positive and negative results, but the presentation is quite forensic. We are witnessing a clinical trial, not being told a story, and the straightforward format makes the film informative rather than compelling. Magic Medicine has a lot to say about the human condition, and how the complex nature of depression can be approached. However, it is perhaps best viewed as a scientific document, rather than as a narrative feature.