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　　Gloriously self-aggrandizing moviemaker Tom Palazzolo made an awesome feature debut with Caligari’s Cure. If you know your Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, you’ll remember that the orgasm of the 1919 German movie revealed that the ostensive villain had been really a psychiatrist, and the moderate hero a certified looney. Palazzolo uses generous chunks of Caligari, evaluating the expressionistic opposites of the previous film’s director Robert Wiene with contemporary artistic developments. It’s a fairly obvious stylistic workout, but it’s simply because entertaining as Palazzolo’s hallucinatory quick topics. Caligari’s Cure would make a felicitous double feature with the 1988 shorts set Palazzolo’s Chicago.
　　Caligari’s Treat marks a change to narrative for Palazzolo, while keeping the freewheeling style of much of his documentary work. Filled with references to art and film background, Caligari’s Cure is an autobiographical dream that offers a broad range of styles, moving between documentary-style footage and expressionistic scenes played out on lavishly painted cartoon-like sets. Palazzolo loosely follows his life tale, from childhood memories of Catholic college to his careet at the Chicago Art Institute, which is equated with a psychological institution. A sense of playful appropriation keeps this autobiographical collage together.