User reviews

The last two years I've been absolutely astonished about the sheer quality of docu-series Netflix has been bringing out. "Making a murderer", "Flint town", "The Keepers", to name a few.

But this one was especially on some level really emotional for me. As I myself was raised in a Indian cult. Not this one, but many aspects are almost identical. I am now 27 and I still struggle on a daily base with many things that were taught to me at such a young age. What struck me was how well portrayed this guy was. The almost hypnotically way he could look, and even walk, got people in some sort of a trance. I myself experienced many times where we saw our "Guru" talk, and he had the same aura that also Baghwan has. The other aspect that struck me was them talking about following, but you could feel they actually were all deeply in love with him. A cult leader is not someone you follow, you fall deeply and madly in love with him. This happened to my mother and even after leaving almost 15 years ago, she still can't stop looking to this new love. She never became a stable person again in her life.

The docu itself should be an example to future docu makers. The pacing is nearly perfect. The interviews are well paced, just a few people on different sides, and somehow you all get some sort of attachment to their side of the story. You strongly get the feeling from episode one that nothing is black and white. And that all of these people strongly believed in their cause. There is no one who had the complete truth or did the complete right thing. And Baghwan is equal mysterious in this documentary than in real life. Somehow they don't try to explain the person Baghwan, because you simply cannot explain him. In that way his followers were absolutely right. He is a one of a kind person, and to others he was a con man. For me? He is something in between.

I'm not into cult, but this documentary really blows my mind. Learnt so much history about the town, the religion and the whole process. It gets better and better each episode, couldn't stop watching! It's crazy that this is only back in the 80s.

To understand why utopias do not work this provides a fascinating real life example.

A guru who chooses not to speak and allows his followers to take control - Sheela is a brilliant mix of artful aggression and disingenuousness. Her lack of enlightenment by the end is bizarre. The whole purpose of following Osho was supposedly to gain enlightenment. Will the day ever come when she recognises that her need for power created only chaos?

Human nature in all its frailty plays out on film - everyone should see this - and read Animal Farm, which predicted it all decades ago. Slightly overlong which is the only reason it doesn't get 10 stars - but worth staying with as it truly gets weird halfway through.

Impressively done documentary that even after 5 to 6 hours still leaves too many questions unanswered. Too much focus on the neighbors, too little on actual life within the commune. Respectful interviewing, but not thorough enough. I'm still very fascinated though. How charismatic must people be and how wonderful the commune life that you don't get absolutely disgusted with the extreme greed of your leader and the aggression of his secretary?

What's great about this show is that it never takes sides, instead shows everyone telling their side and letting you figure out who's lying (lots) and who's honest. I wish there'd been a touch more expansion on the pre and post worlds, but I get that the focus was on the Oregon episode, so it's hardly critical. What was most striking here was how bigoted and clueless the people of Antelope were, how racist and NIMBY. And yet, the cult itself was messed up, so both sides have merit! Find your own truth!

It's great to finally see an in-depth documentary on one of the most bizarre events of the late 20th century. What happened at Rajneeshpuram in the 1980s is so extraordinary it's actually difficult to comprehend. The series is well-presented and thoroughly absorbing.

I was amazed at how much video footage they had from inside the commune- I really had no idea this much material even existed. I was also surprised at how much prime time news coverage the story received. The Way brothers should certainly be commended for how much time and research went into this production.

The major problem with the show, as many others have pointed out, is that it does not tell the whole story. In fact, it doesn't even come close. There are many incredibly disturbing stories about what went on in the commune during this time period, the worst of which involve sexual abuse of children. There is information about this online as well as in published books by former sannyasins and commune members. And while it may not be possible to discern exactly what is true and what isn't, there is enough credible evidence to suggest that some very dark events took place under the watch of Rajneesh and his associates.

The two main interviewees, Phillip Toelkes and Jane Stork, fail to discuss these more serious topics and spend a lot of time marvelling over how great a man Rajneesh was. Toelkes in particular is clearly still obsessed with his former guru, to the point where he cannot stop crying every time he mentions his name. It becomes incredibly tiresome and the amount of airtime he gets in this show is inexcusable.

Sheela, however, is a much more interesting character. By all accounts, she has done some terrible things and is arguably lucky to be a free woman but either way, she is fascinating to watch and listen to- both then and now. The documentary would not have had anywhere near as much impact without her presence.

It's hard to know if the Way brothers produced this show with a slight bias towards Rajneesh and his followers or simply that they looked in the wrong places and only found half the story. Either way, this is a great watch but I would highly recommend doing some of your own research to get a more balanced view of things. Christopher Calder's online articles are a great place to start.

Although some of the former members dismiss the term cult when referring to the Rajneesh movement, it undoubtedly shows a range of similarities to what might be referred to as a cult. Nonetheless the documentary series Wild Wild Country proofed surprisingly succesful in offering insights that go beyond the taboos and stigmas normally surrounding the subject. Clearly the Rajneesh movement was something that the world had not seen before and the world, perhaps, hasn't seen since.

Focussing around the Indian guru Rajneesh, later known as Osho, the documentary starts off by exploring the very beginning of the movement. Its unorthodox teachings, controversial beliefs as well as its international reach slowly unfold during the first episode of the documentary series. Gradually the focus of the documentary however shifts towards the individuals who circulated within the inner circles of the movement. This inevitably transforms the documentary into an exposition of 'the individual as part of a cult' rather than an exploration of the deeper beliefs of the movement (which at times seem contradictory).

Nonetheless the documentary continues to captivate the viewer as opposition against the movement arises during the cults relocation in Oregon. It is here where the movement encounters more and more opposition which in return fuels the hostility from members towards outsiders. It is not unlike patterns we've seen with cults like the church of Scientology and the Peoples Temple where, once a stark contrast between in- and outsiders has been established, a cult turns violent. The documentary manages to explore the depths of the criminal activities in which the Rajneesh movement was involved without overtly (or excessively) steering its viewers towards a certain point of view. The result is a story that shocks without excessive dramatization.

What makes this documentary worthwhile is the way the story unfolds. Although spread over six different episodes the documentary could be seen as one climactic film in which tension continues to build until it has reached its inevitable climax. Surprisingly the documentary does not necessarily leave one to wonder how people could ever be part of the group, for it also displays the movements admirable qualities. Rather it leaves you to ask how knowledge about the Rajneesh movement could have been absent for you prior to watching the documentary series. If this is the case indeed, then this is a must-watch.

To me personally the appeal of the movements leader remains unclear. This ofcourse could be explained by the lack of insights the documentary offers regarding his background and the very origine of the movement. So yes, the documentary will leave you with many questions. But rather than leaving you with the illusion of presenting the full story, the documentary ignites within you a thirst for knowledge. I guess that is exactly what one might demand from documentaries: the desire to know more.

I found Wild Wild Country to be a fascinating documentary. It had so many shocking twists and turns, it kept me riveted. Prior to watching this documentary, I had never heard of Bhagwan or the Rajneeshees. The events that transpired are almost shocking enough to be fictional.

The six-part documentary details the story of a group of disciples led by an Indian guru named Bhagwan. It follows their move from India to a rural area in Oregon where they founded a town called Rajneeshpuram. I felt that Bhagwan remained something of an enigma throughout the documentary. Although they did share footage of him, I didn't really get a sense of what his disciples saw in him to cause their devotion. His religious movement seemed to be founded on a philosophy of meditation (although I meditate and so would not call what they were doing meditation, by the way), valuing material wealth, and sexual freedom as a road to harmony. I really did not get Bhagwan's appeal.

That said, the documentary did an amazing job of sharing the progression of Bhagwan's movement over time, the perspectives of three of his disciples, and the impact of the Rajneeshees on the existing community of Antelope, Oregon. I thought the documentary did a fair job of presenting both sides regarding the collision of interests between the Antelope community members and the Rajneeshees. I found it interesting to see how two opposing groups can view the same events with such sharp disparity. As well, it was interesting to see how the Rajneeshees' desire to create a community of peace, love, and acceptance lead to behaviour which embodies the opposite of those goals. Without meaning to offend anyone, from my perspective, it was also such an interesting opportunity to see what people are willing to buy into in order to gain a sense of belonging and meaning in their lives.

Every once in a while you'll come across a story so full of rich details, wonderful characters, and an extraordinary atmosphere, this is one of those.

I have read Osho's books and tried his meditations and have found him full of wisdom to offer but never knew much about his personal life nor this grand experiment that took place in Oregon. I just randomly clicked on this title on Netflix and here is a chapter of Osho's life that captivated me from beginning to end.

You can frame this story in terms of a Master and his relationship to his main disciple Sheela, or a small town's struggle against a massive foreign ideology, or old faith vs. new faith, and it's even reminiscent of the fall of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Whichever way you look at it, it encapsulates the full spectrum of human experience from deep fear to unconditional love. At times you'll see the same bigotry and self-righteousness of the small town folks in yourself and everyone you know then you'll realize they're not the bad guys, they are just simple people like all of us. And at other times you'll see the Messiah complex and power hungriness of the top Sannyasins in yourself as well and realize that they're not in the wrong either, they just wanted to find a paradise and live the way they wanted to. At the end of the day, all characters in the story are redeemed and were just playing out their part in this grand legacy and what a beautiful legacy it was. Sheela may be a deeply faulted character but she was right in saying the whole thing was like an opera- a tragedy in the end but oh so many beautiful moving parts in between.

It's kinda funny in a perverse way how people of Antelope were railing about their way of life being destroyed by newcomers without even thinking how Americans destroyed the way of life of Native Americans. The Mayflower mentality, as Sheila put it. If only those hicks had the sense of just leaving them alone and letting those people live their lives the way they wanted, there wouldn't have been any conflict. They never wanted to take over anything, yet every step of the way they were confronted by bigots and racists. And when patience doesn't work, when love doesn't work, when nothing works, what do you do? You devolve into chaos and violence. Very predictable and tragic.

It was really hard for me to watch sometimes, because racism and hatred won, the old white men and women in glasses won, and they keep winning, simply by dragging everyone into their gutter. And an idealistic movement of extreme individualists lost. It was painted as a cult for years and eventually became one. It was painted as a public menace for years and eventually became one. I'm sure it wasn't perfect, and I'm sure it was no paradise on earth, and I'm sure it would have eventually collapsed anyway, as all idealistic constructs do, but why all the hatred? Why do these morality-obsessed people have this insatiable need to tell others how to live their lives and destroy those lives if they don't get their way? Those are rhetorical questions, and the scariest part is that they are as relevant today as they were almost 40 years ago.

Interesting story but so dragged out, it was painful. It would've been better a 2-hour film. Personally got really bad energy from the characters too by the end. I just wanted to stop watching it.

Fascinating documentary series about extraordinary movement of people, interested in finding the meaning in spiritual teachings of Indian Guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (who adopted name Osho at the end of his life). I have not read anything he was teaching, but it is apparent his "magical" presence made people fell in love with him. His Oregon-based community was a mixture of a post-hippie ideals of love and freedom and on the other hand, a power-hungry fraction within, which wanted to rule, take-over, dominate, even if it involved crossing the line of law and breaching the utmost ethical principles. The power dynamic and the cash flow is not fully apparent, but the documentary still goes deep. Obviously, there is a lot of fog and grey area, esp. in regard to possibly shady conduct within the community life, as well as on the side of the state, determined to bring the community down, which at times resembled more of a war on beliefs and way on life than solely the enforcement of the law. There are, however, covered many facts and first-hand accounts and the involved individuals uncover their personalities very thoroughly. The vision of building a different and better community was interesting as well as the the enormous power and workforce this group had. As the story unveils, one would expect that American people would be generally interested foremost in enforcing justice while upholding the constitution and principles of freedom, it's not a case at all, at least not there and then. Long before any actual concerns appeared, the attempt to block, expel or destroy this community was fueled by a simple bigotry, hatred and jealousy - mostly due to practices of "free love" and wealth this group had accumulated. Regardless of anything else, this strange interest of traditionalist, small-town Christians in other people's sex lives is truly repulsive and despicable, but well-known nowadays and throughout the history. But this is by far not only about that. Even though I loved the series, I believe it could be little more factual. I've spent long hours researching the matters and events afterwards, and learnt so much more, which was not included in the documentary. But the personal accounts of the people involved, which this series is based upon, are indeed very valuable and interesting.

I was very interested in the documentary because I wanted to get some background for Osho's books, which are still quite popular among some of the people I know.

The main thing I like is that, unlike a lot of other documentaries, it doesn't subconsciously make you take sides by the end of it.

However, it was so unnecessarily long, I kept questioning myself throughout whether I had that much spare time for such a topic. It took me more than a month to finish it, and I still have a feeling of time wasted.

I also can't help to think that some of the important factors were intentionally left out of focus, and they're mostly money-related. Did they try to present it from an angle of an average member? Maybe, felt like that to me.

How a group of people can totally legally and while respecting the constitution and law create a new town with its own name, mayor, armed police, school, etc.. and how because those people live a different way of life with different beliefs (still 100% abiding law citizens) the federal government can by stepping on the law of freedom of individuals/religion and by bending the constitution dismantle this town and prosecute its people.

Really well made and really fascinating documentary about something truly unique.

Had there not been so much real original footage from that time I personally would have not believe this story because of its huge scale and number of people involved.

10/10

I loved the subject content, and really could not believe I had not heard about this before. But I did not like how it glossed over subjects, missed information entirely and didn't look into osho enough, it definitely felt biased towards rajneeshes but I loved the interviews and seeing how some people still believed, they definitely had that glassy eyed look and I was fascinated watching them still in total awe of osho and I'm still in awe as to why they can't see the truth.

So 50/50 in my opinion, great subject matter and interesting interviews but for 6 episodes it should have been more in depth.

I take my hat off to Netflix, it was brilliant and unbiased documentary ever. I was literally on the edge of my seat and was finding myself saying What!!! No way! almost every 10 minutes.

It was 6 parts series and i watched it spending my whole day. Don't start at night otherwise there is not stop.

After finishing the documentary. i had unexplainable feeling of longing and felt relieved but same-time was little sad it was finished.

Must watch! I do not give 10 stars easily.