Sex Magic: Manifesting Maya

Sex Magic follows Dez and the sexual healing community that he lives and works in. What starts off as an examination of a little known community turns into a character study of Dez himself. Aspects of the community seem genuine and very uplifting for its members. There seem to be a number of individuals who genuinely believe what they say and genuinely care about their clients, friends, and lovers.

Dez, the sexual healer who becomes the focus of the documentary, is a little more complicated While Dez professes being a healer and being there to meet his students needs first, he comes off as almost a sex cult leader. He has a certain amount of control over those around him and does not seem above manipulation to get what he wants. As the film continues the film makers find individuals who are willing to speak out against Dez and cite several instances of sexual harassment and even assault that he has committed.

While a little slow at parts, overall I would suggest this documentary to anyone who wants to learn more about polyamory, sexual healing, or likes character studies. There's also a decent amount of full frontal male and female nudity if that does anything for you.

I had never heard of this film when I chanced upon it on the Sundance Channel. For at least the first 30 minutes I had the impression that I was watching a Christopher Guest-style mockumentary, maybe along the lines of "A Mighty Wind", with its playful (and not necessarily always condescending) treatment of familiar stereotypes. The problem was, however, that it just wasn't all that funny (not that all of Guest's films are, either). In fact, the only real laugh came when I looked it up on the web and discovered that this loosely strung together collection of New Age clichés (set in Sedona, AZ!) was actually intended to be taken seriously. Incredible!

You may hate it. You may love it. Regardless, you will be entertained. If this was a Netflix doc, it would give Tiger King a run for it's money. It truely is incredibly entertaining and a wake up call in regards to just how different people really can be from what lost of us consider "normal". I also have to admit, amongst the very strange context, there are a few one liners in this doc that are profound...

Part narrative, part documentary, part unintentional comedy, due to its odd subject matter. I'm not talking about Tantric Sex, I'm talking about Baba Dez, sacred sexual healer - the epitome of a crunchy granola,chakra balancing, free loving, Sedona AZ living, hippie Guru.

Sex Magic was originally intended as a documentary on Dez's teachings at his Temple in Sedona; However, filmmaker Jonathan Schell requested Dez open up his life to create a film narrative instead, with a focus on the rocky relationship between Dez and "his beloved" Mya. Mya had come to Dez from a very broken and abused place in her life; while teaching her the art of sexual healing they fell in love. Mya becomes a skilled sexual healer in her own right and believes in intimate contact with clients, but Dez also practices polyamory, which basically is a fancy name for being extremely promiscuous (Dez has lost count as to how many lovers he's had, somewhere between 1000-2000) Mya isn't comfortable with this aspect of their relationship. On top of that, Dez gets accused by a colleague of being inappropriate with his female clients.

The term Sex Magic is the art of manifesting tangible desires through the sharing of sex, while holding the image of what you are trying to accomplish in your mind during the act. Schell said Dez practiced Sex Magic to conjure people willing to participate in sexual healing sessions on film. It worked, be prepared to see quite a bit! The whole thing makes for a very entertaining and enlightening 77 minutes. "Hold a space" for this movie if you get a chance to see it!

I've never before seen such an unrepentant scumbag as the subject of this film. A con man with a serious sex addiction along with several other possible mental illnesses who has remade himself as a sexual "healer" he takes money from those poor women out there who are lonely and/or gullible enough to buy his never-ending line of gibberish. He's a gigolo ,essentially, but unlike male prostitutes who provide an honest service to paying customers, this guy actually thinks he's rehabilitating, awakening the dormant, and generally doing the work of a saint.

The only woman in the movie who sees "Baba Dez" ("Dez" is short for Desert, even the guy's name is nauseating) is a woman named Mya, Dez's soon to be ex girlfriend. She never comes out and says it but it seems obvious she knows a grifter when she sees one. A thought occurred to me towards the end of the film: perhaps some the other women in the film see him as pitiable enough to let him think he's truly found his calling in life and is actually helping them. In other words they'll go along with his schtick as long they get pleasured well enough in bed. It's possible but unlikely - everyone here is so sickeningly earnest that any kind of untruth crossing their lips would surely cause an emotional breakdown.

I really have nothing against new age philosophies and practices, everyone needs to find their tribe, and I have no bias against prostitution when it's within the confines of consenting adults. My big objection with BD is the inherent dishonesty in his hustle. He's selling snake oil to damaged people without a trace of conscience, a reprehensible and vile human being. Despite my strong negative reaction to BD, the film is quite good. The directors see their subjects clearly and do a nice job of tying it together, creating a unified portrait of an interesting topic. I will seek out others they have directed.