Product: Jonestown - The Life & Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Rating: 4.0
Jim Jones: the man behind the grape.
Jonestown: The Life and Death of the People's Temple (Stanley Nelson, 2006)Thirty years later, it's still hard for me to wrap my head around the monstrosity that was the People's Temple. Stanley Nelson's documentary does a pretty good job of explaining the how of it, using extensive footage of the Temple and interviews from survivors, But I just can't grasp the why. (I'll attempt not to turn this review into a diatribe against religion, so if it seems a little sketchy, that's why.)Rather than focusing on what most know of the People's Temple-- the events of November 11, 1978-- Nelson (Sweet Honey in the Rock: Raise Your Voice) goes back to the beginning, examining the life of Jim Jones as he started his small church in Indiana, tracing it through its various moves, and finally ending up in the small South American country of Guyana. Nelson wants to get at what it was about Jim Jones that made him so charismatic, and he does a pretty good job of it. Jones comes off scary, but that has far less to do with Nelson than it does with the fact that it's impossible to look at Jim Jones and not know what's coming; the guy was slick and persuasive, and it's pretty easy to see how he ended up with as many congregants as he finally did. Fascinating stuff, this, and worth your time. ***