User reviews

The last two years I've been absolutely astonished about the sheer quality of docu-series Netflix has been bringing out. "Making a murderer", "Flint town", "The Keepers", to name a few.

But this one was especially on some level really emotional for me. As I myself was raised in a Indian cult. Not this one, but many aspects are almost identical. I am now 27 and I still struggle on a daily base with many things that were taught to me at such a young age. What struck me was how well portrayed this guy was. The almost hypnotically way he could look, and even walk, got people in some sort of a trance. I myself experienced many times where we saw our "Guru" talk, and he had the same aura that also Baghwan has. The other aspect that struck me was them talking about following, but you could feel they actually were all deeply in love with him. A cult leader is not someone you follow, you fall deeply and madly in love with him. This happened to my mother and even after leaving almost 15 years ago, she still can't stop looking to this new love. She never became a stable person again in her life.

The docu itself should be an example to future docu makers. The pacing is nearly perfect. The interviews are well paced, just a few people on different sides, and somehow you all get some sort of attachment to their side of the story. You strongly get the feeling from episode one that nothing is black and white. And that all of these people strongly believed in their cause. There is no one who had the complete truth or did the complete right thing. And Baghwan is equal mysterious in this documentary than in real life. Somehow they don't try to explain the person Baghwan, because you simply cannot explain him. In that way his followers were absolutely right. He is a one of a kind person, and to others he was a con man. For me? He is something in between.

I'm not into cult, but this documentary really blows my mind. Learnt so much history about the town, the religion and the whole process. It gets better and better each episode, couldn't stop watching! It's crazy that this is only back in the 80s.

What's great about this show is that it never takes sides, instead shows everyone telling their side and letting you figure out who's lying (lots) and who's honest. I wish there'd been a touch more expansion on the pre and post worlds, but I get that the focus was on the Oregon episode, so it's hardly critical. What was most striking here was how bigoted and clueless the people of Antelope were, how racist and NIMBY. And yet, the cult itself was messed up, so both sides have merit! Find your own truth!

Fascinating documentary series about extraordinary movement of people, interested in finding the meaning in spiritual teachings of Indian Guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (who adopted name Osho at the end of his life). I have not read anything he was teaching, but it is apparent his "magical" presence made people fell in love with him. His Oregon-based community was a mixture of a post-hippie ideals of love and freedom and on the other hand, a power-hungry fraction within, which wanted to rule, take-over, dominate, even if it involved crossing the line of law and breaching the utmost ethical principles. The power dynamic and the cash flow is not fully apparent, but the documentary still goes deep. Obviously, there is a lot of fog and grey area, esp. in regard to possibly shady conduct within the community life, as well as on the side of the state, determined to bring the community down, which at times resembled more of a war on beliefs and way on life than solely the enforcement of the law. There are, however, covered many facts and first-hand accounts and the involved individuals uncover their personalities very thoroughly. The vision of building a different and better community was interesting as well as the the enormous power and workforce this group had. As the story unveils, one would expect that American people would be generally interested foremost in enforcing justice while upholding the constitution and principles of freedom, it's not a case at all, at least not there and then. Long before any actual concerns appeared, the attempt to block, expel or destroy this community was fueled by a simple bigotry, hatred and jealousy - mostly due to practices of "free love" and wealth this group had accumulated. Regardless of anything else, this strange interest of traditionalist, small-town Christians in other people's sex lives is truly repulsive and despicable, but well-known nowadays and throughout the history. But this is by far not only about that. Even though I loved the series, I believe it could be little more factual. I've spent long hours researching the matters and events afterwards, and learnt so much more, which was not included in the documentary. But the personal accounts of the people involved, which this series is based upon, are indeed very valuable and interesting.

In the early 1980s, a guru, Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, moves from India to near the town of Antelope, Oregon, USA. He buys a large ranch and sets up a commune for his followers, building an entire city from scratch. The architect and implementer of his plans is his devoted secretary, Ma Anand Sheela. The local townsfolk react badly to their new neighbours, resulting in a very antagonistic relationship between the two sides. Tensions eventually boil over in a series of bizarre events. Eventually, law enforcement authorities, state and federal, get involved.

Superb, riveting documentary. Some of the events are so bizarre that if this wasn't a documentary you wouldn't believe they're true.

Cleverly, engagingly presented: if it was just told in straightforward linear fashion it would be quite dull watching for the first two episodes or so and you would probably give up before getting to the really interesting stuff. Instead, the directors tease you from the word go with interviews that indicate vaguely what will happen down the road, sucking you in to the story.

Very balanced in the way the story is told: there is no narration, everything is told through interviews, newspaper headlines and TV news items. Leaves you to make your own mind up who the good and bad guys are (if, indeed there are any good guys in the story).

Quite emotional towards the end, as you feel a sense of injustice and unnecessary loss.

On the down side, it does take a few episodes for the series to get a good momentum going. The story seemed to drag in the early-middle sections, episodes 2 and 3 or so. It felt a bit over-detailed and could have been trimmed down in that section. The directors labour their point from time to time.

In addition, the teasers that keep you engaged in the early episodes also make you impatient. I kept wanting them to get to the part where it all unravels.

Overall though, an incredibly interesting, thought-provoking and enthralling series.

As a fan of Osho's methods and teachings, I went to the film skeptical of it being biased against the cult but boy oh boy, was I proven wrong. Netflix have done a fantastic job by letting the so called 'villains' and 'heroes' tell their side of story and letting you decide. This documentary is not only entertaining but will leave you pondering about the inherent tribalism, xenophobia and cult like loyalty to a charismatic leader in humans.

A perfect representation how America treats anybody who is not made by American "mold".

A perfect representation of USA "justice" system, which if they find you undesirable, you will get kicked out no matter what.

A perfect representation of how cults use people for their own gain.

Lots of things to learn from this documentary.

"Wild Wild Country" is a wild wild ride. Unfamiliar with the story of Bhagwan/Osho I wasn't sure what to expect, but after binging on this docuseries in a day, I can tell you I was pleasantly surprised and entertained to learn for about this strange moment in history.

First thing I'll say is that the film does an excellent job at presenting many conflicting perspectives and narratives without ever manipulating the audience into believing one way or another. No dastardly soundtrack underscoring menacing photos, no swelling strings playing on the subconcious mind meant to influence. "Just the facts" (and fictions, as it were). Certainly there is raw emotion accompanied by an effective score, but it never felt like I was being pushed into sympathizing with some people more than others. It is left up to the viewer to take away what they will.

So what were my takeaways? Well I thought the story highlighted a number of interesting themes pertaining to identity, pursuit of meaning, cultural conflict, celebrity, hypocrisy, the fallibility of man and impossibility of utopia, and more. Ultimately I came out more "Team Osho" and found myself generally on the side of Rajneeshpuram. While the saga was anything but black and white, and there were numerous actions and events linked to the group which were highly unethical to say the least (poisoning, attempted murder, spying, etc...), the forces intent on bringing them down were just as bad if not worse in my estimation.

To begin with, we have a collective of peace and love hippie types (the Rajneeshpuram, lead by their guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh) buying property and moving into Oregon turning barren land to massive green spaces and creating a commune rooted in pursuit of spiritual elevation and loving togetherness, however unorthodoxly expressed. Immediately this causes the residents of nearby Antelope, an insular and homogenous hometown of approximately 40 mainly retirees, suspicion. While many may see the documentary as a David vs. Goliath story about the preservation of a traditional way of life against an invading behemoth of aliens set to destroy all that is holy and good, what I witnessed was a stubbornly xenophobic gaggle of frightened religous zealots using the gargantuan powers of the United States government to persecute, prosecute, and destroy an alternative cultural force. The Antelope residents speak of "fear of the unknown" and are generally predisposed to oppose The Other. The "red/orange people". The "street people". Giving no consideration to how this so-called "cult" might be helping people and instead going full "Not In My Backyard!" on those who engage in nudity and "sexual immorality". Them fishy immigrants who make love loudly, horror of horrors. Weirdos who thrash around yelling their minds out as a form of therapy (though surely the yokels would be less worried if the weirdos were cathartically speaking in tongues praising the One True God), my word! When the culty crazies actually *do* take over the neighbourhood is when all Hell breaks loose.

To the old folks, the "Good Guys" are the government. Their police uniforms much more tolerable than foreign maroon robes. Their surveillance of citizenry not an issue at all compared to the cultists cameras. Their weapons of defense justified and in service of the greater good, not like those violent gun-toters living next door! Basically, these arch-conservatives bow down to and worship The State while simultaneously pointing fingers at Rajneeshpuram for mixing religion and politics. You'd think these stuck-in-their-ways townies were up against the Devil himself. Indeed, we hear references to Satan, comparisons of the commune to Nazi concentration camps minus the ovens, and all manner of extreme rhetoric portraying these countercultural freespirits as demonic and destructive, deserving of having their entire home base razed to the ground, buncha freaky-deekys!

Now, like I said before, this isn't an overly simplistic good vs. Evil tale, but against a backdrop of instigated antagonism and an opponents refusal to adapt and/or peacefully share God's green Earth, it's no wonder when things start to crumble for the Raj. Factor in internal issues such as an unrealistic approach to dealing longterm with mental health and poverty issues, hierarchy and power struggles, the temptation and embracing of materialism to excess, the challenges of balancing non-violence with practical self-defense measures, and it's clear this social experiment could only last so long. But, at least based on the footage and interviews we're shown, this project did a tremendous lot of good and inspired positivity among it's many members, and it's hard for me to believe the group was 'bad' because of how things went south toward the end.

In any case, I'd highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in the aforementioned subject matter. It's entirely possible you'll wind up with an interpretation diametrically at odds with my own, but in the end, surely we can still get along? Surely we can coexist, despite how different our worldviews may be...?

... first of all this is not about spirituality or the teachings of Osho ... it all gets a tangential mention here and there but that is all. what it is about is the ejection of an "alien" way of living from a backward rural part of a country which prides itself on its freedom of religion "1st Amendment prohibits Congress from making any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, " ok so you cannot make law but if anyone tries to bring a new way of worshipping that is not puritanical body-hating Christianity of a certain hue ; the local rednecks will eject your outfit in time .... the members of Osho's entourage got so put under pressure from the start that they soon developed a siege mentality leading to unwise choices .... but when you see the "Oregonians" depicted here the specific brand depicted here especially the legal and Republican folks shown here you can see why a "literally" naked no-holds-barred psycho-religious outfit had picked the wrong harbour to drop anchor ... the depicted "Oregonians" seem the kind of folks who came over moved West and kept values from the 1600/1700s adding kerrap as they went along and getting there by the 1840s ...

The mistake Sheela made was to pick this place. Being Indian she probably computed that a bunch of Brahmins setting up community in back country ANYWHERE would be fine welcome even. Bad guess. The folks there saw Indians, any Indian and started to form circle with the caravans ...

You cannot watch this and whatever you feel about Osho and his teachings fail to see that the guys were harassed from day dot ... leading to persecution and finally ejection. They were I repeat not blameless but still not cool. Cannot either fail to see that Wasco and Waco are only one letter apart ... At the end of the exposé you feel for a moment that it could have ended one and the same ...

On this planet Earth of ours there are many people who should never blend as they live in parallel universes. This brand of Oregonians and Osho's folks are two such groups. It is a sad tale beautifully and FAIRLY recounted it must be said. I really came away admiring Sheela and Niren; fine folks to me and when people get old you can see in their bearing their face their eyes how they lived. Those two look good unlike the legal reptiles on the other side of the equation ...

A must-see ; and like countless US movies it reminds one should not interfere with backcountry folks. Sheela never saw that and that was her most dire mistake. Deep inside Brazil or Argentina they might have fared better; maybe ... or India (yes i know they ran from there first) as indeed the Poona commune is still thriving in 2018 ... Chalk and cheese ... Oil and water ... take your pick

This is an exceptional documentary and the subject matter is examined from multiple angles. Many of the key persons representing different parties of concerns are interviewed, and viewers are given an insider look at key events that happened during that bizarre period of time. Overall, this is a superb investigative report and another must-watch from netflix. GREAT JOB!

This documentary reads as a soap opera, with cults and backstabbing and the feds and extraditions and prison. It's all so wild. The story itself is captivating, especially seeing as it's a true story, and so much of the events are on camera. The documentary makes do a good job of providing relevant interviews and telling each side of the story. The flow of the documentary allowed the storyline to unfold naturally. A truly well made documentary about a crazy event in the backwoods of Oregon.

This goes into much, much more detail than Forensic Files did though, as can be expected. This is an unbiased documentary, which is great. Didn't seem to have an agenda, and all sides seemed to be well represented.

With that out of the way, this is pretty nuts. There are some hypocrites that did not belong to the cult, by the way.

Very interesting, and very well made.

I also found it interesting that some of the criminals in this weren't punished as well as others for similar crimes. That's the world that we live in I suppose.

I love how it shows both sides and lets the evil hiding behind the confidence bleed out as the series goes on.

First of all, this documentary series is well made. Ok, we put this aside. But during watching the episodes, I can feel the pure evil of this lady, Sheela, and how she pretended to be a good person. That really makes me feel angry. I have to pause the movie and go to IMDB to see somebody's curse on her. To my surprise, nobody mention her. Am I the only one who hate her? I have been reading books by Osho or on Osho for many years. I knew Sheela's story before I watch this movie. But to see her speaking and lying in so many details, really piss me off. So, that's my suggestion to the movie directors: you should not give her so long air time, basically you give a criminal a limitless time to defense herself. The series can be shorten if Sheela's talking time being cut in half. Many viewer felt the series is unnecessarily long.

Her sense od entitlement and her ability to turn everything around just stuns me.

It's hard to believe the things that happened actually happened seems more like the work of Hollywood. Which of course makes for an excellent topic for a documentary so right off the bat this series is already got a win.

The way they chose to show what was going on by mixing in actual news footage from the 80's was great. There was no real narrator it was all people talking or responding to questions that lay out what is/was happening. Even though this is 6 parts, it's so interesting and well told at a good pace it goes by fast.

I found myself flipping all over the place trying to get a feel for who was really the bad guys here. By the end of it even though it didn't matter who was who or who did what I was crying. Any movie/show/documentary that can illicit emotions from my cold dead heart gets a good rating.

How proud those American village idiots were to have harried Osho out of their country. To have him there was a once-in-a-hundred-years event. They clearly didn't read anything from him or listened to his spiritual talks. Go back to your narrow-minded Christian communities and die in ignorance.

A story of a clash between two sets of cultists: the Rajneeshees and the "original" Christian inhabitants of Antelope, Oregon (and their minions in the local and federal government bodies), and how the clash escalated. Absolutely, fascinating!