My love for documentary film strikes again with Jonestown: The Life and Death of the Peoples Temple. There is a lot to say about it, but then again I feel like whatever I said would be a retread.
I’m fascinated with the idea of cults and what could make people so fervently adhere to a lifestyle, and this film showed me exactly how Jim Jones gained all his followers. From the pulpit in a very socially tumultous time he shouted words of peace, equality, and healing. The message was there, and that’s frankly disturbing to me, that knowing what I know about Jim Jones I can still find charisma and hope in his words. It’s a testament to the power of the filmmaker that they used all real footage of Jones and his congregation and didn’t try to use hokey reinactments.
The most horrifying and upsetting part of all this is the sheer amount of loss at the end of the film. The people that they got to be on camera were all former members or relatives of members of the Temple, and their stories are harrowing. Knowing that they have all lost, and would be dead if not for their own luck and courage to break away is saddening. They’ve lost it all, from their families to their sense of trust to their faith in God.
If you have any interest in what happened in Jonestown (even if it was just a passing interest like I had) I’d encourage you to see this doc. It’s comprehensive but it isn’t for the faint of heart (there are audio recordings used at the end of the final moments of Jonestown that are particularly upsetting. To say Jim Jones was unhinged at the end is an understatement.) It’s very thought provoking, and the words really stick with you.
