I love this movie so much

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This a great little movie with everything an excellent documentary needs; pathos, drama, tragedy and humour. Anthony Baxter comes across as a very sympathetic and empathetic filmmaker who gets to know the subjects of him film - the residents of Balmedie - very well and obviously gains their trust and friendship.The theme - ordinary people being steamrollered by corporate greed - is a classic one, and as the central figure of Trump so typifies the careless, thoughtless greed of corporate America it makes for one hell of a drama. Great film. Well worth watching. And look out for the sequel!

Documentaries exist to tell a story that may have been neglected by the mainstream media or to reveal more information about a popular issue. They're creatures that can be erected from almost any subject, given a band's new lead singer, school bullying, healthcare, a sex-scandal, a critique on a president, or even a fast food restaurant. You've Been Trumped follows a story that, specifically, we may not have heard about, but we certainly can't be too surprised is coming to light. This is yet another case of a multi-billion dollar corporation attempting to get the better of the smaller man, further emphasizing personal gain and greatly limiting those ill-equipped with the ability to defend themselves.The film focuses on American billionaire extraordinare Donald Trump, who in 2007, decided to carry out plans to construct an eighteen-hole golf course, 1,500 townhouses, and a five star hotel all on the gorgeous land of Aberdeen, Scotland. The land was a conservation area, with sand dunes that were claimed to have been there for thousands of years, posing enormous environmental controversy. Some of Scotland's purest, most unrefined land would soon become home to conventional landscapes. I stand with the late, great George Carlin on the idea of golf courses; why must we devote millions of beautiful acres to a game? But Trump feels it must be done, and is willing to get it done even if he has to deliberately drive local resident/farmer Michael Forbes out of the area. Forbes' home is located right outside where the hotel would go, and he feels that seeing his "pig sty" farm would appall his customers. What Trump claims to be brutally honest in his remarks about Forbes' farm that bears years of history comes off as nothing but pompous babble that shows his ignorance and stunning sourness more-so than any figure would seemingly allow. We see how far Trump's humiliation and persistency will go; he winds up cutting off Forbes' electricity and water.Director Anthony Baxter chronicles the long, multimillion dollar battle between Trump, Forbes, the Scotland government, and the environmental agencies, who Trump feels he has smitten, when really, they couldn't be more opposed to the construction. What we get is a story that was definitely fit for documentation. This is yet another entry in the line of documentaries I've seen that show depressing corporate manipulation in order to make more of themselves and less of everyone else. I recently watched a terribly underrated Swedish documentary called Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, which detailed the story of an indie filmmaker who tried to expose the banana-giant Dole for using an illegal pesticide on their banana crop. What followed was an endless array of court cases, appeals, lawsuits, media trouble, slandering, etc, showing just what happens when indie cinema crashed with a corporate tycoon. It was a documentary that completely exercised its first amendment right, and showed how it was being taken away in a particular situation.If there's one thing that stuns me about You've Been Trumped, it's not Trump's bitter, remorseless bigotry, it's how people are reacting to it. Did you honestly expect Donald Trump a charming persona. Should he? Due to his highly-acclaimed status, I'd say definitely. But no, he's a businessman, a cut-throat one I may add. That doesn't make his actions anymore justifiable or acceptable, but are businesspeople the kind you paint with the brush of charm? Trump's arrogant and grossly disrespectful attitude is one to particularly loathe, but given the fact that he basks in the pompous light of attention and relentlessly competes for headlines, whether it be a million-dollar donation to a charity in exchange for the president's birth certificate or a presidential nominee, it isn't one that is desperately hard to believe.For a debut filmmaker, Baxter could not have opened his film career with a more deeper and poignant work if he tried. There is a point in the documentary where he is even handcuffed and taken into police custody; a scene which becomes a wraparound for this film, showing the unbelievable "every man for himself" battleground Trump's presence in Scotland has turned the entire community.It should also be noted that Baxter serves as the cinematographer here as well, often painting Scotland as the giant landscape of beauty it has always been known for. It's so beautiful and incalculably valuable, we hate to see the land lost nothing but greedy, uncompromising tactics from a billionaire suit. While this is undoubtedly a documentary with a relatively unsurprising story, it's nonetheless a story that deserves to be told through the competent lens of Baxter.Starring: Donald Trump and Michael Forbes. Directed by: Anthony Baxter.

Donald Trump is an internationally famed entrepreneur who is also a very successful businessman. His vast business empire has made him a billionaire in his native United States and he wants to build a golf resort. He wants to build it on a site of special scientific interest on the Aberdeenshire coast (Scotland). This documentary plots his total disregard for the environment and the local residents in his efforts to achieve his goal. He is not alone in this; despite the local council turning down planning permission on environmental grounds the Scottish Parliament overturned the decision. Trumps claims that what he's doing will preserve this fragile environment appear (at best) misled as we see the systematic destruction of the dunes and the harassment of local residents.All this is seen primarily through the eyes of the few local residents that border the resort. He even uses the police to harass the team making this documentary. There is also testimony from environmental groups and even an economist; all indicating that this is a bad thing. It all seems very unbalanced until the end where we learn that neither Trump nor his representatives, the Grampian Police or the Scottish Government wanted to contribute to this film.I love the way its shot with hand-held cameras and even amateur footage from one of the residents slipped in. There is also some vintage film showing how life was on the coast in days gone by and quite a lot of news footage. The biggest triumph for me though was the use of footage from Bill Forsythe's film 'Local Hero'. Anthony Baxter cleverly draws parallels between the (fictitious) situation in the film and the situation facing the residents around the site. A real eye-opener into how big business is conducted these days and it's not pretty. Mr Trump does not come out of this well and, on the evidence shown, deservedly so.SteelMonster's verdict: HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDMy score: 8.4/10You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

I've been following developments on this blight on the landscape from the beginning. Scotland has more than enough golf courses and not one of them is more beautiful than the natural landscape it replaces. Scotland may be the home of golf but that doesn't mean it should be covered in courses.Trump cares only about money (hey, he's a hugely successful businessman) and has no concept of other people's right to feel differently from himself. His comments about the residents, in particular his vitriolic description of Michael Forbes and his property (which looks no more an eyesore than any working farmland) are vile and despicable. The man is so out of touch with what Scotland wants and is so ignorant about the country that he actually thinks his course will be on the west coast! If he had his way though, it would probably stretch between both coasts.It's always quite sickening to see sycophantic pandering to guests on chat shows at the best of times, but to witness David Letterman's fawning and ignorance (no doubt down to zero research and not wanting to risk the sensitive Mr Trump - after all, he could be a future President!) was cringe-worthy.Michael Forbes comes across as a decent, down-to-earth individual, not the near-Neanderthal Trump would have you believe him to be. In fact, he is clearly quite eloquent for a "simple" out-of-towner.To lose such a unique and significant Site of Scientific Interest all to help line the pockets of Trump is shameful in the extreme, and the Scottish Government should hang it's head for bowing to this megalomaniac of the business world. They also appear to have highly influenced the Police handling of the situation. I'm not one to shout "Police state" or "1984" but it's hard not to feel Grampian Police are failing in their remit to protect the public's interests.It's already an emotive issue but the documentary was very moving and had me switching from anger to disbelief and not so very far from tears, partly due to my love of Scotland and also to the human spirit on show in defiance of Trump's continued empire building.