WACO: MADMAN OR MESSIAH
US, 2018, 180 minutes, Colour.
Mike Caruso, Chris Urquhart, Elizabeth Stuart-Morris, John Pucci, Abby McDonald, Fabricio Prado, Reese Presley, Charles Cameron, Audie Grant, Alexandra Brown, Andre Latour, Carolyne Rheaume.
Directed by Christopher Spencer.
A vivid documentary looking back at the attack on Mount Kumble, the community of the Branch captive Indians, under the leadership of David Koresh, for re-March 1993. Here the story is told with 25 years retrospect.
A large cast does re-enactments of the main characters – while the actual selves are interviewed in 2018.
While there have been dramatic reconstructions of the attack and the siege, and a great deal of newsreel footage at the time, the adventures of this film is that it has a great number of recorded interviews between David Koresh and the FBI as well as with a number of other members of the community. This documentary is airing many of these tapes for the first time.
Along with video clips of David Koresh himself, delivering lectures, with his wives and children, there is a great deal of footage of the community during the 1970s and 1980s, into the 1990s. The narrative provides a historical background to the origins of the community, the 1950s, belief in a second coming, belief in chosen people resisting the world and living in community. There were various leaders interpreted as prophets, including the widow of a prophet who then had a relationship with Koresh when he joined the community. However, Koresh took over, even in his 20s.
The documentary also provides background to Koresh, his family, parents, siblings, his growing up, going on the road, his particular conversion experience, changing his name.
There are also many talking heads, 25 years older than at the time of the siege. This includes several of the community members, involved in the siege, all brought out from the community and not dying in the final blaze that consumed so many of the members – and was information that David Koresh himself had been shot in the head. Several of these talking heads are still firm believers in their community and in the role of Koresh, is the presence of God in the world, as another Christ, dying at the age of 33 for his people.
It is hard to gauge quite why the FBI and other agencies went in so heavily against the community, local hostilities, suspicions of cults and cult leaders. There is plenty of newsreel footage – but, most helpful is the commentary from the journalist, initially not willing to pursue the story, coming from Dallas,. He gives a quiet and intelligent, somewhat detached commentary on the events.
The attack on the siege took place over 50 days, attempts at communication with Koresh and the community, plans to bring out some of the children, some of the adults. But, audiences will appreciate the patience and communication of the chief negotiator, Bill Sage, who comments from his 25 years vantage point. However, the main officer in charge of attack and rescue, seems particularly gung ho, then and now.
During the 2010 is, a number of documentaries were made taking advantage of FBI and other conversations, often quite at length, with those concerned. Joe Bellinger, for instance, made two very interesting documentary is in Conversations with Ted Bundy and with John Wayne Gacy.
