Cinema
Ticket to Heaven
R. L. Thomas · 1981
Synopsis
David Kappel, a young Jewish schoolteacher from Toronto, has just been left by his partner. He goes to meet a childhood friend in San Francisco, who invites him to a weekend in the countryside. The stay takes place in an isolated camp run by a religious movement. There they sing, eat little, hardly sleep, and members follow him whenever he wants to walk alone. Soon he stays, and sells flowers in the street for the man they call Father.
Context
The film is drawn from Moonwebs, an investigative book by the Montreal journalist Josh Freed published in 1980. The movement is never named in it; the producer, Vivienne Leebosh, specified that it was not about Reverend Moon, but critics recognised the Unification Church in it. Nick Mancuso plays David, with Saul Rubinek as a comic amateur friend, Kim Cattrall as the camp leader and R. H. Thomson as a deprogrammer.
Who it is for
A little under two hours, in English; a harsh film about indoctrination, shown step by step, which calls for patience.
Prizes and reception
Four Genie Awards from fourteen nominations, including best film and both male roles, and the grand prize of the Taormina festival.
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