My Scientology Movie (2016)

We humans are amazing creatures. Most of the time I find myself, standing in awe by foolishness of my species. I have my own idiot moments and most of the time i just embrace what i had done, any way, this docu-something showed me there are far more meat brains out there. There's a guy, from start to end, an ex, über-somebody of scientology in the past, man, such an idiot. He spent twenty plus years of his life with shitentology, abused other idiots who pay to be abused, had the sweet taste of power and authority for several years.And now, he's out, and acting like he's the commander of some kind of sh*t storm. Telling people what to ask, what to feel etc. At some point he basically took a dump on to the main guy, he barely had nothing to say in return.We humans are lone creatures deep inside, they choose to pay for that abusive, idiotic and undoubtedly wrong corporation, so let them be. Don't judge or try to help. Just watch them slipping in their own feces.So, i just had motivation to watch what those wackology guys does with this documentary kind of thing but at the end its just people confronting each other close range to call each other squirrel!What a bummer!!This production is first class "DON'T WASTE YOUR PRECIOUS TIME" material. Gives no new information about idiotogly dudes, no ending, filled with boring and low quality re-enactments. And also an idiot as starring. That dude, idiot shitentology old admiral, swear he'll pull the plug off the corp., I wonder what he would did or at first place what can he do? I really want to have future information about his actions, because you know there is nothing more fun then watching humans meaninless movements.

I find Scientology and cults in general a fascinating subject and have watched most documentaries on the subject including the most recent one by Alex Gibney, Going Clear. Both this and Going Clear are excellent exposes but in different ways. As one reviewer said Going Clear is more factual whilst this one gives you a better feeling of Scientology is all about - a good description in my opinion.I've often got the feeling that Scientology is somewhere between a cult and a religion but this film, more than any other, puts it squarely in the cult category.Right from the outset you get a feel for this. Requests for interviews by Theroux are turned down by the church an almost unheard of response for an organisation that large. Most will have P.R departments ready to go to any and all media interests.This makes it hard for Theroux of course. His usual film making style is subtle and he spends considerable time those involved, something impossible with this subject.So he decides to use actors and actresses to re-enact some of the abuse by the organisation's head, David Miscavige. This is powerful stuff which is different to simply hearing reports of the same abuse.But I found the real behaviour of the real Scientologists even more damning, particularly when coupled with commentary by ex-Scientologists. Near the end of the film the organisation sent a letter to Louis Theroux saying because he was making a documentary about them they intended to make a documentary about him. Such a response seemed just so totally infantile, like a young child's tit for tat: if you take mine I'll take yours kind of response. On top of the rest of the film this gave an insight into just how separated this group is from mainstream society - to even think that was an appropriate response.All in all one comes away with the a real sense that Scientology is run by a powerful and paranoid sociopath who has somehow managed to get away with what he is doing for years. A great effort by Theroux that worked much better than his older documentary on another cult: the Westboro Baptist Church.

I am a big fan of Louis Theroux, and also enjoy him in this documentary. But it kind of misses its mark. Louis never gets to spend much time with Scientologists (though not for lack of trying), which is sad, as those few bizarre moments are the clear highlight of the documentary. Instead, he goes on a mission to make a vague reenactment of certain moments in David Miscavige's life, as a way to explore the background and motives behind the organization and Miscavige himself. It's not that interesting, and it doesn't really reveal much beyond what you learn from other documentaries on the same subject (Going clear, for instance).The meetings with former church members are alright, and there is at least a couple of really good moments with them. But perhaps because they are not the people he is after, Louis never probes that deep into them. If he did, those moments does not end up on screen.It's a documentary worth watching if you like his stuff, but it's not as good as many of the episodes of his shows.

For those of you who have a keen interest in cults, let me make clear that this film isn't to teach you the ways of Scientology, more to help expose what they're really hiding. It opens with various clips of the Scientology Church just to show you the impact and scale this 'religion' has made and answers the questions, 'why make a film about it?' Enter Louis. One of BBCs most un-intimidating journalists to date. He visits EX Scientologists who expose the Church for what it really is. Going into detail about how many felt they were kept against their will, beaten, and shockingly harassed in their own homes once leaving the church. This side of the film, is very much like his regular programme. The way Louis Interviews, and the filmic style is 'samey', so nothing new here, though very interesting. To fully understand the teaching behind Scientology, Louis hired actors to re create various stages of the Church. This was a very love/hate area for myself. Even though it was entertaining, and it did give you an eerie sense of what goes on behind the Churches doors, it also felt like a forceful 'fill' to separate programme with film. Another issue I had with the film was there seemed to be no attempt to physically contact one of the leaders of the Church, David Miscavidge. Unlike previous documentaries where Louis will forcefully never stop hassling until he gets some form of meeting, this filmed seem to lack that and focus more on the recreation videos. Overall, If you enjoy watching Louis Theroux, then you wont be disappointed. He excels in his journalistic performance. He keeps you on the edge of your seat in such a passive, non aggressive way. Moments of humour are clear in the film, which if you know Theroux style documentaries will fully understand.For those who would like to watch this as a one off, don't expect a comedy and don't expect an educational video. This is about exposure behind closed doors.