Sometimes we can all use a little help in changing our behavior when we aren’t able to do so on our own, and hypnosis is one of the most commonly employed practices. But, in some cases, it can work so well that we may unintentionally end up overcompensating, prompting us to act out in ways that yield a whole new crop of issues to contend with. Such is the case with Vera (Asta Kamma August), who gives hypnosis a try to quit smoking, a behavior she regards as unhealthy and antisocial. However, Vera’s hypnotherapist (Karin de Frumerie) suspects that her patient’s reluctance in explaining her reasons for seeking out treatment suggests that she’s there for more than just kicking the habit. This hunch leads her to conduct a profoundly impactful hypnotherapy session that produces a radical, albeit somewhat ill-defined, change in her subject’s behavior. And, even though Vera seems to relish the effects of this change, it couldn’t have come at a worse time: just as Vera and her business and romantic partner, André (Herbert Nordrum), are about to pitch their new commercial venture to a group of select international investors at an elite pitch fest, an event where they receive guidance from a high-profile pitch coach (David Fukamachi Regnfors). During preparation for their presentation, Vera begins acting strangely unpredictably, even disorderly, toward others, including those whom she an…

If you’ve seen “Dragon’s Den” then you’ll be familiar with the concept of some nervous entrepreneurial types making a pitch for resources to a panel of investors. Well here it’s “Vera” (Asta Kamma August) and her boyfriend “André” (Herbert Nordrum) who have come up with a plan to help out women with certain, un-defined, medical problems. With the big day approaching, she goes off to see a hypnotherapist whom she has read can help wean her off tobacco. Afterwards, when they arrive at the hotel, she appears different. Indeed, her behaviour becomes more and more eccentric and their partnership starts to develop some cracks. Those are exacerbated when he, always eager to say the right thing, finds that she is regularly contradicting him, even tripping him up, in front of the group’s leader “Julian” (David Fukamachi Regnfors). Exasperated by her increasingly flaky behaviour, he resorts to some short-term drastic action but will that stave of disaster for their business proposal and/or their now completely confused relationship? It’s not always very clear just what is going on here, but August plays her part well as she descends into her own unique psychological state and Nordrum steals the end of the film as only a perplexed man can(ine). It isn’t really laugh out loud, but the scenarios do quite entertainingly poke some fun at what comes across as an intellectually obsequious versi…

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