J H

I found Wild Country very insightful into something I remember hearing in the distant past with the numerous Rolls but never actually knew anything about except the guru with the Rolls Royces in Oregon. At one point thru their stay in OR things got weird when Sheela left and then it kind of took a 90 degree turn. What came thru very clearly though is that all residents of Antelope (all 45 of them) had the same views of the group: they were different, who knows what they are up to, evil shenanigans up there in the hills, they took over our town, etc. It's actually a very American thing to have a disdain for something that is new or different or even progressive without first finding actual concrete details about it. The residents the documentary interviewed are your typical racist, discriminatory people that once easily finds in the south in the US and who always seem to forget everyone in America except for native American Indians are foreigners who came here from different parts of the world with different cultures, beliefs and theologies. Ironically, the ranch is now a Christian Youth Camp with which the local residents seem to have a nice harmonious relationship with so perhaps it was not the cult like environment that scared them but rather it was not their own particular type of "cult environment" as the Christians seem to be. Additionally, I thought it was especially cruel and rather unprofessional that the US Attorney General turned a five hour flight from Charlotte to Portland into a three weeks parade show in front of the cameras. It was definitely a very enjoyable documentary.

I saw the trailer, I know the main character so I really wanted to see it. Had the trailer stated it was a "fable based on a true tragedy" I would had nixed it. The film exaggerates Diana's psychological and personal issues thru long, drawn out mental trances which can easily be footnoted as a psychological thriller. She is depicted unceremoniously as a crazy nut and a "victim" from the get go. Kristen Stewart nearly whispers throughout the entire move and the Queen and Prince Charles have very few lines; they are more like human props. If you think this movie is along the lines of the Crown or the Queen you will be sorely disappointed. Artistic license here should have been denied.

Rather watch my fingernails grow .