Calling All Earthlings

Most appealing is the film’s mixture of California post-War history, cults and a tinge of science fiction — an intriguing combination of elements that make it a winner.

Anchoring this diverting, disparate collage are interviews with those who still believe in Van Tassel’s faith and message.

There’s no judgement here, so any laughs you have are of your own devising. They’re a funny lot, the devout and the doubters. Even the late USC historian Kevin Starr takes the subject seriously, parking it within ancient belief systems and modern California loopiness.

Given all the intriguing stuff he had at his disposal...it’s a shame Berman isn’t able to bring the enigmatic man of the hour (plus 17 minutes) into greater focus.

There isn’t much marijuana use in Jonathan Berman’s documentary Calling All Earthlings, but its elliptical, ramshackle structure could make one question the merits of legalization.

Earthlings is rather scattered in both its portrait of Van Tassel as a man and its explanation of his cultural impact.