The filmmaker of this documentary (Will Allen) used to be the official filmmaker of the cult for more than twenty years, so he had a lot of video material to work with, which provided a uniquely in-depth and colourful insight into the strange workings and trappings of this group. This movie can serve up a lot more than just the usual newspaper clippings and filmed retrospective interviews.
The guru of this cult is an incredibly odd and camp former / failed bit part actor and dancer (nothing wrong with that, by the way, there's a lot of those around) who apparently had a unique talent for conducting meditation session. And for recruiting some of the best looking acolytes ever. Even his disgruntled former members looked back upon those initial "shaktis" fondly, and the way they described those sessions made me wonder whether those sessions had not been spiked with psychedelic drugs.
Some members then became totally devoted to Michel, one member describes how his life centered around creating incredibly elaborate fruit salads for his master. To me, that was already the point when the sexual abuse that followed became almost inevitable. Those people have to face up to the fact that they pulled out the stops themselves.
Michel must have been very patient and sly to wait until his followers had severed all ties with the real world before he started to profit from them sexually. Unsurprisingly, and despite his public denigrations of sexuality which he used to isolate his followers from each other, he eventually started to sexually abuse his attractive male disciples.
The guru of this cult is an incredibly odd and camp former / failed bit part actor and dancer (nothing wrong with that, by the way, there's a lot of those around) who apparently had a unique talent for conducting meditation session. And for recruiting some of the best looking acolytes ever. Even his disgruntled former members looked back upon those initial "shaktis" fondly, and the way they described those sessions made me wonder whether those sessions had not been spiked with psychedelic drugs.
Some members then became totally devoted to Michel, one member describes how his life centered around creating incredibly elaborate fruit salads for his master. To me, that was already the point when the sexual abuse that followed became almost inevitable. Those people have to face up to the fact that they pulled out the stops themselves.
Michel must have been very patient and sly to wait until his followers had severed all ties with the real world before he started to profit from them sexually. Unsurprisingly, and despite his public denigrations of sexuality which he used to isolate his followers from each other, he eventually started to sexually abuse his attractive male disciples.