invisibleunicornninja
I wish that this wasn't a documentary.The movie overall is extremely gripping and entertaining and well-put together. The content is horrible, and I wish that the events shown in it had never happened. This has little to do with my enjoyment of the film, however. The movie was well-put together and I liked seeing all the perspectives. It seemed like the filmmakers were trying to get the audience to sympathize with the nazis, but other than that I enjoyed this movie.
Ridley_Scott
The filmmakers did their hardest to convey this true story as being of national importance, but their work dwindles by the end of this documentary and you realize that the entire episode in Leith, North Dakota was literally about nothing at all.This is a documentary about two nearly impoverished white supremacists who pay a couple hundred bucks to buy up parcels of land in some backwater North Dakota town that nobody cares about. That's all this documentary is about, no joke.As the two white supremacists move into town some of the townsfolk find out who they are, thanks to media coverage, and then begins a campaign of back & forth harassment between the white supremacists and some of the townspeople.Eventually the white supremacists are arrested on trumped up charges that are later reduced, but amazingly none of the townspeople are arrested for their harassing activities toward the white supremacists (some of which are captured on video in the documentary).By the end of this documentary, you're left with a feeling of disdain for both the white supremacists and the townsfolk. You also realize that you would never want to live in North Dakota! Lastly, you realize that this documentary was almost entirely trivial and pointless, has absolutely ZERO national impact or relevance, and going by the reviews and online footprint, almost nobody saw this documentary! Btw, as a resident in a small southern town, I've lived near quite a few white supremacists. My attitude was always different strokes for different folks. I won't judge them if they don't judge me, etc. That seems to have worked well for me for nearly three decades.
glueShoe
@davannacarter <-- posted a review that is incredulous.The story about Leith ND is captivating, riveting, and true. It isn't trivialized by the number of people in a small town.In fact, it is more impactful that the Neo-Nazis chose such a small town as a target. Predators prey on the weak.Hitler and the 3rd Reich didn't start with an empire, they built one on fear.This movie carefully exposes the narrative with each interview and each scene. Nothing appears to be 'over produced' or fake. You can feel the fear and terror the citizens felt toward the encroachment of fascism. They spoke up, fought back, and won.Give this documentary a chance to show you a perspective on Neo-Fascism.
FlashCallahan
The documentary chronicles the attempted takeover of Leith, North Dakota by white supremacist Craig Cobb. What begins as an 'enemy within' story, turns into something more sinister, as the local townsfolk realise that the man buying their land is trying to create a hub for America's neo- Nazi movement. As Cobb's disciples arrive the locals rise up, and what was at first, a predictable war of nerves, turns into something deeper, questioning the concrete Amendments placed by the US government.......When seeing the documentary on face value alone, it's another perfunctory documentary made to exploit something that is already beyond exploitation, radicals and there abhorrent positive opinions on racism.It follows the same style as most documentaries do, have the good old talking head section, footage from cameras and news reports, acting as a narrative charting the occurring events.And whenever we see the main protagonist, or his 'disciples', there is this weird haunting musical score, like moans in a warehouse, which, if on a compilation of incidental music, would be called 'the epitome of evil'.And of course, the makers of the film are almost godlike in the way they can edit the footage. They alone decide how to make Cobb look during the film. Pure evil, snivelling wreck, pathetic loner, they use all the tricks they can to make him look powerful at first, and slowly lose his grip on reality. But to be fair, it wouldn't take much trickery, the man is a despicable piece if work.But if you took away all these simple tricks of the documentary maker, you can see the bigger picture, not only was Cobb trying to create his own little supremacist village, according to the first amendment, he was doing the majority of it legally.It's a fascinating insight to the legal system, and just how twisting the system ever so slightly can veer one persons judgmental perspective on a stale cult that should have ended over a century ago, can tilt in his favour.It's a scary though that even in today's climate, this sort of frantic hatred is still active and almost imperative to some peoples way of life.It's just desserts that Cobb becomes the 'fugitive' of the piece come the end, and he is the one banished into the middle of nowhere.Powerful stuff for sure, it will anger you, as you would expect it to, but it's a reminder that there are some absolute maniacs about,thinking that what they do is perfectly acceptable.