It might not be physically possible to die of second-hand embarrassment, but watching Ernst de Geer’s feature-length debut, you may experience feelings that come very close to it. A satire on start-ups and do-gooders, keeping up appearances and millennial conference culture, The Hypnosis will leave you discomfited, and perhaps frustrated and confused.

Vera (Asta Kamma August) and André (The Worst Person in the World’s Herbert Nordrum) are an entrepreneurial couple who have designed an app that aims to improve women’s menstrual health, fertility awareness and pregnancy knowledge. The film opens with Vera, speaking directly to viewers, recounting her first period at age eleven. The pair insist that this app is not just for Western countries but is aiming to do good in developing nations where a lack of knowledge (or, indeed, cultural taboos) can mean the difference between life and death.

Prior to attending “Shake Up”, a pitch competition for aspiring app developers, Vera undergoes hypnosis and regression therapy in order to help her stop smoking. It doesn’t have the desired effect – but has it unleashed socially unacceptable, childish and aggressive behaviours instead?

Much of the film’s extreme levels of awkwardness stem from the way it is shot. Vera and André, in particular, are often subject to mid-shots, meaning that it often feels as if we are sitting across the table from them when they are speaking. It’s too close for comfort, especially when sustained at moments of untenable friction. We want to excuse ourselves from the room, the awkwardness, and de Geer resolutely does not allow us to.

The Hypnosis revels in its satirical nature, too. The pitch competition is full of self-aware, quirkily dressed middle-class millennials who can’t wait to make their mark on developing nations by offering up their app. Their smugness is palpable, as is their cliqueyness. André’s desire to be accepted by this group is so strong you can practically see the veins straining on his neck as he tries to make small talk or express what he believes to be high-level ideas. The scene where he gate-crashes a dinner party – complete with a chair that is about three feet too big for the table – is excruciating. As are his attempts to find common ground with Julian (David Fukamachi Regnfors), the “guru” who is running the event. He claims to have read and enjoyed Murakami, only for Vera to announce that he found it boring and couldn’t complete it.

Herbert Nordrum and Asta Kamma August’s performances are the key to this film. Nordrum spends most of the film wide-eyed and mouth agape, taking in Vera’s newfound personality. His need to be liked is crushed by her erratic outbursts. Asta Kamma August switches between crazy imaginary dog owner and calm hotel waitress; a competent app developer and fun, quirky girlfriend. It’s a demanding performance not only because of the “drop of a hat” character changes but because it is designed to be so alienating for audiences.

There is a quiet chaos that bubbles beneath the surface of this film. And whilst not quite on the scale of Ruben Östland’s The Square, the scene with Vera’s imaginary dog being “stood on” comes very close. The upmarket hotel, complete with burnt orange steel and fingerprint-free floor-to-ceiling glass, is full of pretty lights and art installations. Its setting feels too fragile to contain Vera’s outlandish and unpredictable behaviour. And because Vera appears to be such a loose canon (or under the influence of hypnosis) as viewers you have no idea which turn conversations will take. Are the other characters in the film finding this funny or are they, too, chewing the insides of their cheeks off in sheer embarrassment?  

To save his pitch, André dispenses with his “ally” act and does something truly cruel and dangerous to Vera. Is it revenge? Would you do the same? Up until this point, Vera has been frustrating and obnoxious. How important is saving face? Is Vera making a point by refusing to play the game by behaving in a way that is so completely at odds with the “norms” of such a social circle? All of these questions swirl around whilst de Geer continues with his intense close-ups and mid-shots, amping up the chaos with yet more twists and shocks during the film’s last 25 minutes or so.

The film will probably leave you with a lot more questions than it is willing to answer. We are simply there to behold the cringe factor; to find nothing in common with anyone shown on screen. It is a strange, frustrating and yet oddly compelling piece of cinema. You will want to tear your gaze away but you cannot – and are not allowed to, either. If you enjoy strong satire and revelling in the eccentricities of others, then The Hypnosis is one not to miss.

The Hypnosis is out on MUBI from 16th August and joins a host of fantastic new releases so a perfect time to sign up or rejoin the streamer.