Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

aka: Neverland: The Rise and Fall of the Symbionese Liberation Army
USA 2004, 89 minutes
Dir. Robert Stone
Rating: [M]
Genres: Documentary / Sociology

Topics: Hippies & Psychedelia, Period 1960s.

Aroview: An indepth examination of the Californian 'hippie-terrorists', the SLA, who rose to prominence in the 1970s attempting to change America with assassinations, robberies and the kidnapping and brainwashing of Patty Hearst, heiress to the infamous media magnate Randolph Hearst.

Scoring the major coup of interviews with former SLA members such as Russ Little and Michael Bortin, this evokes the unreality, divisiveness and chaos of the era with a barrage of edited inserts and newsreel footage. This powerfully includes a closed-circuit replay of the infamous bank robbery in which Hearst was identified toting a machinegun. Even so, dir. Stone is ultimately more interested in the group's dynamics and starry ideals than Patty Hearst 's role. A fittingly fractured portrait of a fractured era.

NZ International Film Festival 2004

Member Reviews

Average rating (Good Enough). Showing 1-1 of 1 member reviews.

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3 stars (Good Enough) The documentary is well researched and put together in a logical sequence. It will probably have archival value for criminologists. ~Tubbs