The Theory of Happiness

Seeking a better way of life in rural Ukraine, a collective fights an ideological war. Armed with pitchforks and shovels to work the land, and mathematically calculated political poetry to enlighten the masses, PORTOS (Poetical Association for the Development of a Theory of Universal Happiness) works to build a utopia. Founded in the late 1980s, the commune survives on its herd of cows and pigs. Slogans plastered around the farm are constant reminders of their ideology, and members must adhere to a dress code of close-cropped hair and vests with pockets (equipped with a charged cellphone, flashlight and wristwatch). Gregory Gan joined PORTOS in 2010 to be an ethnographer from within; the group views him as a foreign recruit documenting their practices. Complex social relationships and the role of the filmmaker are broached in this intelligent and revealing look at an alternative subculture negotiating loneliness, friendship, power and authority. Alexander Rogalski