Hardcore musician Dimitri Mugianis goes on a hardcore journey into the underground world of drug addiction, ibogaine, and West African shamanism in compelling documentary
I’M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE (Michel Negroponte, 2009)
IFC Center
323 Sixth Ave. at West Third St.
Opens Wednesday, January 12
212-924-7771
www.ifccenter.com
www.michelnegroponte.com
After making METHADONIA, which was selected for the 2005 New York Film Festival, Emmy Award-winning documentarian Michel Negroponte (JUPITER’S WIFE) did not want to make another movie about drug addiction. But when he was introduced to the intriguing story of Dimitri Mugianis, ibogaine, and West African shamanism, he couldn’t help himself. Leader of the hardcore band Leisure Class, Mugianis had gotten off heroin by using ibogaine, an experimental, natural hallucinogen that is illegal in the United States. Mugianis was so impressed with the treatment that he immediately became part of the underground network that dispenses the drug, helping others detox much the same way he did. Negroponte follows Mugianis as he treats patients in Mexico and Canada, even taking the hallucinogen himself so he can experience its mind-altering effects (and add a groovy dream sequence to the film). And when one treatment goes terribly wrong, Mugianis starts questioning his mission and heads to Gabon to meet with Bwiti shamans and learn more about ibogaine and its unique properties. Mugianis is a compelling subject: open, honest, and strong, he dominates the screen, holding nothing back as he wonders whether he has merely replaced one addiction with another. Negroponte’s droll, often humorous narration counterbalances Mugianis’s determined, aggressive manner. The director avoids talking-head experts, instead letting the compelling story play out on its own, taking him and the audience on a very different journey than he first imagined. I’M DANGEROUS WITH LOVE, named after a Leisure Class song, is a passionate look at addiction, rehabilitation, and one man’s intense dedication to help others. The film opens January 12 at the IFC Center, with Negroponte on hand for the 8:20 screenings tonight and tomorrow.