Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst

While I was watching I kept wondering: how would you go about explaining all of this to someone too young to have lived through it?

Focused as much on the Symbionese Liberation Army as on Hearst. This film forms a personal trilogy for me, along with THE WEATHER UNDERGROUND and BROKEN DREAMS (1995). The similarities but also the differences between these groups are remarkable. The SLA is like a version of the Red Brigades who, instead of digesting the works of Karl Marx, spent their time watching action movies. The Weathermen fall somewhere in the middle, an almost wholesome American version of the passionate Italians.

Peculiarly uncanny

Accessibility problem. Don't know the case? Bone up first. Valuable watching concentrating on the bizarre group of people in the SLA (minus Hearst). Range of viewpoints. Insight into SLA motivations would have been better. Compelling footage. Flawed, but Stone realizes there is no way to get at the truth about the Hearst case. Best is offering multiple points of view. Riveting, intelligent, but a shame that it doesn't go further.

An interesting subject but as a film it is only adequately made and suffers from its attempts to make the subject 'cinematic', taking away what makes it far more fascinating than a filmic version would be. Also, as there are no interviews with her at all in the feature, there is a Patty Hearst sized hole within the centre of it.

"Guerilla is a fascinating and cleanly delineated compendium of outrageous footage." - Eric Henderson

The incredible story of how a bunch of 'revolutionaries' managed to captivate the attention of millions by kidnapping the right person. An interesting look into the dynamics of the sensationalist press' infatuation with live coverage, the film shows how the SLA actually managed to get through with their message despite their methods. But it is the underlining story of Patty Hearst's role and a memorable finale that will ultimately leave you with food for thought and a bad taste in your mouth.