Fresh and Exciting

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Those poor people that died; with great sincerity, they trusted the good reverend Jim Jones. He was their "father", their leader; he could do no wrong. Jones promised a better life for his followers in the jungles of Guyana. Jonestown was to be a utopia on earth. And all those who went ... believed. Yet, in reality, Jones was a flimflam man, a con artist, a monster suffering from paranoia, egomania, and delusions of grandeur.This documentary retells the infamous story, with archival footage of Jones' past, and how he organized the Peoples Temple in California. We learn that Jones, charismatic and charming, was quite deceptive, and that he sold himself as God to his flock: "Some people see a great deal of God in my body; they see Christ in me."Though Jonestown residents seemed superficially happy, trouble lurked underneath the smiles and laughter. Upon the visit of a U.S. Congressman and camera crew, a number of Jonestown residents wanted to leave. Which didn't sit well with the good reverend, infinitely suspicious of the intentions both of his own people and of the U.S. Government.The first 48-minute segment of this documentary describes general events before the move to Guyana, and consists largely of interviews. Only in the second half does the film actually detail the final couple of days, November 17th and 18th, 1978. But with filmed events at the scene, and photos, that final 25-minute segment is riveting in its horrifying reality.The documentary could have been better. Especially in the first half, there are way too many repetitive interviews, which focus on impressions rather than facts. I would like to have seen a more factual presentation. Too much time is spent on pre-Guyana events. And the photos don't identify who is in the pictures.Nevertheless, the real-life story itself is so overwhelming, so powerful, that even a mediocre production can be riveting and amazing, as this one is. That such an idealized utopia could morph so quickly into a hellish nightmare shows what a poisonous mix isolation, gullibility, and mass hypnosis can be.

Jonestown, directed by Stanley Nelson, is a film covering the disastrous mass "suicide" of 900 members of The Peoples Temple, led by preacher, Jim Jones in Jonestown, Guana in 1978.The ideas that were presented in this film were numerous; however, I found the idea of the grand power of brainwashing to be particularly interesting. The idea that "you don't ever join a cult, you join a religious or political group with people you like and with whom you have similar views" struck me. Jim Jones made these people believe that his way of life was the only way of life, made them think they could not leave his program, and told them that "if you wanted me to be your God, I will be your God." Though the film focuses mainly on the major events that were involved in creating and being a part of The Peoples Temple and then finally the suicide, the film also talks about Jim Jones as a person. They mention that he was obsessed with death as a child, and was a very good speaker and preacher. It makes mention of false miracles, his abuse of alcohol, and other illicit actions he takes part in. This man influenced so many people and brainwashed them to believe that there was no reason to live any longer, they should just die in peace. It is a scary thing to think that a man like that can have that kind of power over so many people.Those interviewed ranged from members of The Peoples Temple who were unable to go to Guana, relatives of those who were involved in The Peoples Temple, and a women who was able to visit Guana the day before the suicide, to those who managed to escape into the jungle of Guana the day of the tragedy. Those who were able to escape are to be applauded for their bravery to be on film. Their stories are heart-wrenching, and the fact they shared that part of themselves with an audience is to be highly recognized. Two men who were interviewed, whose story you follow throughout the film, watch their children die and hold their wives in their arms as they slip out of consciousness. These two men were able to escape that day.Stanley Nelson directed "The American Experience", which was four documentaries, one of which was Jonestown. The other installments in this series were The Murder of Emmett Till (2003), Marcus Garvey: Look for Me in the Whirlwind (2001) and We Shall Remain: Part V - Wounded Knee, which is to air in May of this year. He has also directed films like, "The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords" and "A Place of Our Own." Looking at the film from a purely technical standpoint I really appreciated the editing style in the film. I really loved the use of audio of Jones preaching over still images. I liked all of the images they used of Jonestown and the pictures they used of the dead members laying face down with Jones' voice over it. It was haunting. Also, the music in the film wasn't overbearing and therefore it was very effective. It was well used for tone and establishing a mood for the audience.I really enjoyed watching Jonestown, and I felt it was well filmed and though it must have been a difficult thing to shoot it was handled with great care and creativity. It was a chilling experience and certainly taught me something I didn't know about previously.

This story is so much more complex than news reports of the Guyana tragedy would have us believe. The members of The People's Temple had such altruistic intentions: they had a vision of a Utopian society where racial harmony and true brotherhood was the order of the day. They wanted to guarantee care for the poor, the elderly, children....and they wanted to create real community. This doco manages to tell the whole story, while honoring the pure intentions of the Temple members, and even shedding light on the paradoxical cult leader, Jim Jones - a man who was impressively liberal and progressive, politically, but frighteningly meglomaniacal and abusive, when it came to leading his "flock." The strength of this film lies in the fact that it isn't just a play-by-play from afar, but a collection of first-hand interviews with people who were actually there, and who knew the key players. A must-see for anyone who was alive and aware went these events took place.

I saw this at the London Film Festival, and was impressed by what appeared to be a balanced picture - of both the Peoples Temple church and Jim Jones himself. The film is captivating in its chronological story telling, leading up to the tragic events in Guyana.However I did find the repeat use of some archival footage a bit weak, and unless I missed it, it was never explained that the "Planning Commission" was part of the Peoples Temple itself.Like any good documentary, it left me wanting to find out more, but I did think that it was an omission not to attempt any consideration of what led Jones to turn what had been a beneficial organisation, into a murderous one. Neither does the film attempt to look into how the organisation was run - presumably Jones couldn't have directly controlled the 1,000 inhabitants of Jonestown? The source of the poison and weapons is also a subject that doesn't feature, or the question of what happened to the money afterwards?Overall this is a really interesting film, especially for those of us who were too young to remember the events.