Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple

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.

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.

This film documents the life of Jim Jones, his emergence as a charismatic and successful religious figure, and his eventual downfall.

The whole People's Temple story always struck me as just another of the 60's cult phenomena. We had Rajneesh and his farm, and uncountable other guru's who exploited, and continue to exploit, large numbers of gullible followers. The Moonies are still with us, but well below the radar most of the time.

What's odd about Jim Jones -- to me, anyway -- is that no one really seems to know who this guy really was. This film gives more insight than anything else I've seen or read. It talks about his childhood, which was extremely poor, and his family situation, which was equally grim, so we get some insight there. But he was a very carefully guarded fellow. Always wearing those shades, always talking in the manner of a preacher. But who was he really? What was he like when he took off the robes and had a beer? We may never know. His followers certainly didn't know, and no doubt that's a major part of the problem. There is one scene in this documentary in which Jones is standing at the back of a group of people at a large gathering, and his demeanor reminded me of the dictator in North Korea -- it was that kind of vague, arrogant, totally in control look. Spooky.

The most telling comment in this film was the remark made by one of the PT's former members, who said "No one ever goes and joins a cult. They join a church, or a club." But what is the tipping point at which people can tolerate psychological and physical abuse against themselves and their friends? We don't get an answer to that. The people who made this film didn't have to tell us the answer, but it would have been a better film if they had.

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.

I have heard about the cult "Peoples Temple" before, but I knew little about it. Through large amount of rare footages and in depth interviews of the Peoples Temple survivors and family members of the members of Peoples Temple, the documentary takes a deep look into this cult and tries to find out why 909 people committed "mass murder/suicide" on November 18, 1978 in Jonestown, Guyana.

This film is what a great documentary looks like. It goes beyond the headline and dig deep into the story. I begin to understand whom Jim Jones was. I begin to understand why so many people crossed the racial and social boundaries to come together and even devoted their lives to this cult leader and their "church." Many of the cult followers were struggling with the social injustice and racial discrimination in the 60s and 70s. Jim Jones offered them equality and sense of belonging that the society didn't offer. So Peoples Temple becomes their utopia where they could be so happy and united. Only the sad part is that later some of them realize they were betrayed and they had no way out.

This is definitely a great documentary I have seen this year and I surely hope it will get an Oscar nomination.