Commune and polygamy cults are always interesting to me, so I was quite interested in seeing 'Savage Messiah', a supposedly true story about a cult-like figure who had his own commune in the hills in the Quebec country. Funny how I didn't hear about this until I watched this movie. Interesting. Anyways, the leader of course, treats his women and kids like garbage, while the women feel this is the price to pay, as he is their God in some ways. The Quebec children's ministry had a different say, and the story is about the fight to rescue the children, and ultimately, the wives, out of there. While this is an amazing subject, the big problem I had with this is Luc "Engage!" Picard's overboard portrayal of Roch Theriault. From the minute he appears on the screen, he's chewing it up furiously as the leader. Everyone else is fine in this movie, but Picard is just annoying. The other problem I had with this, is the ridiculous religious iconography the director chose on certain scenes, especially when Theriault is caught, and he assumes a crucification pose, and his followers are all hunched on the ground. Give me a break. While the rest of the movie is good, (and Polly Walker is great!) I could have done without those two elements.
Review of Savage Messiah
