Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Redundant and unnecessary.

Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Oh my god!!! I bought a DVD of this film cos it was on special and i am a fan of true crime /cult stories .As most of the big ones ,like ....heavens gate ,Jim Jones ,waco Texas ,etc...happened prior to my leaving high school. I have to say i was horrified with what this man had seemed to be allowed to get away with and decided to look him up and find out some more info.Now i am grateful the film was quite tame in comparison to some of his antics.....he was an awful man .....who manipulated people he was supposed to love ,like a common trashy spouse who abuses their partner.This film was a remarkably well filmed ,well directed piece of film and my hat has to go off at Luc Picard for his portrayal of "moses".....he made me get chills in some scenes . In particular the bar scene with the backache...ugh!...i will not divulge further for risk of entering a spoiler]. I urge all true crime /cult researchers like myself to watch this film as it was a rather gritty and well told story of a very sick individual .And as always ....it left me wondering how some people can let someone con them so blindly and treat them so badly ? How can someone be so desperate to be loved ....to take what he dished out ?? God doesn't condone these acts !

I happen to know that this film was shot in about 18 days and was extremely low budget. This makes you appreciate even greater the talent of the director who obviously had very few tools to play around with, except for the actors. This is a powerfull film which has been powerfully directed. My marks are 8+ out of 10 and the only reason why I do not give it full marks is because it deserved some more money to be put on screen, and then it would have been so much greater I'm sure.

The subject matter of the film is pretty gritty, compelling stuff. It was very hard to watch at times. The main character, the commune leader is played perfectly by Luc Picard. He's EXTREMELY creepy, and gets creepier as his world starts to fall apart. The courtroom sequence where one of the little girls tells in explicit detail the kind of debauchery that's been passing for recreational activity at the commune is absolutely disgusting. The cult leader's final attempts to regain control of his commune are deeply disturbing.There's something unique about Canadian films. The early Cronenberg films had it... like Rabid, Scanners and Videodrome. Strange Brew had it. This movie has bags of it. It's kind of a 16mm vibe. There are also scenes that are simple and yet brutally honest that are used to develop character, break the tension and probably fill out a lean script. For instance, there's a scene in a bar where a group of women are hanging out. One of the women begins to tell a story about going out to find a man for the night. She's pretty obnoxious about it, using a lot of colorful language to describe her sexual needs. This story goes on and on, much longer than it would in any Hollywood film, but therein lies the real entertainment here.

This movie was well done, if you are able to tolerate a movie that is so disturbing. There is an incredible amount of abuse of women and children, so if you are a person who cannot take this, do not see the movie. If you think you can, I would reccommend it. It isn't a fun movie, although there is a little bit of comic relief in teh beginning. It definately makes you think, especially because it is based on a true story.