betraying jonestown
"What you need to believe in is what you can see. If you see me as your friend, I'll be your friend. If you see me as your father, I'll be your father. If you see me as your God, I'll be your God." - Jim Jones
The largest mass-suicide in world history took place on November 18, 1978, in Jonestown, Guyana. Frank Barnes had a chance to stop it.
Logline: A distraught Vietnam vet becomes a spy for the CIA in order to expose Jim Jones' cult but betrays both of them in order to stop a plan for all congregants to commit mass-suicide.
Synopsis: After Frank returns home from Vietnam, he has trouble adapting back into society and suffers from nightmares of his experiences in war. His sister Alice tells him that their neighbourhood is being torn down but that her priest, Jim Jones, is trying to stop it by becoming Housing Commissioner. Frank can’t handle the nightmares of a recurring dream and goes on a suicidal rampage, which lands him in jail. The CIA approaches him and says he can be freed if he agrees to expose Jim Jones’ illegal financial transactions. Ever loyal to his country, Frank agrees.
Frank is introduced to Jim, who takes a liking to him right away, and invites him to dinner at his “perfect” family home where Jim invites Frank to a protest to stop the destruction of the neighbourhood. When Frank saves Jim’s life after an assassination attempt at the protest, Jim pleads with Frank to become his personal bodyguard. Soon, Jones gains his trust and even falls in love with him; however, at the same time Frank falls for Jones’ mistress/accountant Carolyn.
After Frank gets deeper into Jim's inner circle, he discovers the temple practices the opposite of what it preaches and uses tactics as sexual manipulation, fear and abuse to maintain order. Frank uses Carolyn to gather information that Jones became Housing Commissioner in order to save his own personal fortune, which then prompts Frank to hand the information over to the CIA.
When Jones fears his adopted son will be illegally taken away, he and his followers flee to Jonestown, Guyana. Frank thinks his job is done, but the CIA wants him to kill Jones in order to stop the spread of a communist revolution in South America. Frank refuses to go but is blackmailed by the CIA after a human rights inquiry has been opened in his name for when he accidentally killed a little girl in Vietnam. He has to go.
In Jonestown, Frank gains Jim’s sympathy and believes that his utopia is the key to happiness. Also, Frank’s nightmares of Vietnam have disappeared like Jones foretold. However, Frank soon discovers evidence that Jones could be working for the CIA. Carolyn tells Frank that she’s pregnant, but she doesn’t know if it’s his baby or Jim’s, but if it turns out to be Frank’s, Jim will kill it because Jim is trying to impregnate all the women.
After Jones believes his life is constantly under threat, he descends into further madness by running “White Night” or suicide drills. No one is allowed to leave the camp, and Jim controls everyone.
After Jim discovers that a mole is hiding in Jonestown, he murders Alice, who he suspected all along. Jim has taken things too far and Frank decides to escape to the nearby town and inform the CIA, but they’ve abandoned him and Jim catches Frank. Frank is thrown into a pit and tortured with various mind control techniques, but he doesn’t confess that he works for the CIA.
After Jim is informed that Senator Leo Ryan is visiting Jonestown, he buries Frank alive. When Ryan arrives, he buys into the idea that nothing is wrong with Jonestown, but his aides discover Frank who’s still alive. After discovering that Ryan is flying back to the States, congregants come forward and beg to leave. Jim tells Frank that Carolyn and his baby are both dead and that he’s responsible. When the escapees nearly leave, they are shot down by Jim’s cronies, but Frank escapes unscathed. He overhears Jim’s speech on a radio where everyone will commit mass-suicide. He kills Jim’s jealous bodyguard, Leonard, who informs him that Carolyn and his baby are both still alive. He must try to prevent the mass-suicide.
Frank arrives at Jonestown and nearly shoots Jim but is attacked at the last moment. He is tied up and is forced to watch everyone drink Kool-Aid laced with poison. Soon everyone he ever loved is dead. Jim tells him that he worked for the CIA all along and that he wants Frank to kill him. Frank, not being able to make one decision his whole life, decides to kill Jim, but he goes insane after he realizes he failed in his goal.
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出走琼斯镇
“眼见为实……若视我为友，我就是你的朋友；若视我为父，我就是你的父亲；若视我为神……我就是你的上帝。”——吉米 琼斯
1978年11月18日，世界历史上最大规模的自杀事件在圭亚那的琼斯镇爆发。弗兰克 巴恩斯本有机会阻止这一惨剧。
故事简介：一名在越战中受创伤的老兵被美国中情局招募为间谍，潜入吉米 琼斯创办的邪教团体以揭露其本来面目，却为了制止所有信徒大规模自杀而同时背叛雇主和教主。
故事梗概：弗兰克从越南回国后，无法重新融入社会，夜晚经常因梦到战时经历而惊醒。弗兰克从姐姐爱丽丝那里听说他们所在的社区要被拆除，而姐姐的牧师吉米 琼斯成为了住房理事会的成员，试图阻止拆迁。战争的阴影让弗兰克痛不欲生，他试图自杀，却被送进监狱。美国中情局的代表表示，如果弗兰克同意打入吉米 琼斯的组织内部，曝光其非法的金融交易，可以放他出狱。向来忠于祖国的弗兰克同意了。
弗兰克通过姐姐见到了吉米，也立刻获得了他的赏识。吉米邀请弗兰克到家里吃饭，并说服弗兰克一同参加第二天举行的抗议活动。
在活动中，弗兰克救了吉米的命，吉米请求弗兰克做贴身保镖。很快，吉米赢得了弗兰克的信任，也爱上了他。可弗兰克却对吉米的情妇，也是他的会计卡洛琳动了心。
当弗兰克对吉米的小圈子有了更深的了解后，他发现人民圣殿教所做的事情是与其教义背道而驰的。该组织利用性操纵、恐吓和虐待来维持秩序。弗兰克利用卡洛琳获取信息。当弗兰克发现吉米担任住房理事会成员完全是为了中饱私囊后，他将证据材料交给了中情局。
吉米担心他的私生子遭人绑架，便率领教众逃到了圭亚那的琼斯镇。弗兰克认为自己已经完成了任务，但中情局希望他杀掉吉米，阻止有可能在南美洲爆发的共产主义革命。弗兰克拒绝接受这项任务，却收到有关他在越战期间误杀一名小女孩的人权质询。弗兰克明白，这是中情局在胁迫他接受任务，他无法拒绝。
在琼斯镇，弗兰克赢得吉米的同情，也相信所谓的乌托邦是获得幸福的关键。而就像琼斯预言的那样，弗兰克关于越战的噩梦都消失了。但随后，弗兰克发现的证据又让他怀疑琼斯也在替中情局工作。卡洛琳告诉弗兰克，自己怀孕了，可不知道孩子的父亲是他还是吉米。如果是弗兰克的话，吉米会杀了这个孩子，因为他的计划是让琼斯镇所有的女人都怀上自己的孩子。
琼斯相信自己的一生走不出威胁和恐惧的阴影，变得更加疯癫，开始组织“白夜”，也就是自杀演习。任何人不得出营地，所有人都在他的掌控之中。
吉米发现琼斯镇有内鬼，便杀了他一直怀疑的爱丽丝。吉米已经走火入魔，弗兰克决定逃到最近的镇子，通知中情局。可他已经成了弃子，吉米把弗兰克抓回琼斯镇，扔到坑里，施以各种精神控制的酷刑。不过弗兰克没有交代为中情局工作的事情。
吉米得知里奥 瑞恩议员要来琼斯镇参观的消息，将弗兰克活埋。里奥来了，他并没有发现任何异常，也不再怀疑人民圣殿教。可里奥的助手们却发现了尚未断气的弗兰克。里奥决定立刻带人飞回美国，没想到有教徒听说了这个消息也恳求议员带他们回家。吉米告诉弗兰克， 卡洛琳和他的孩子都死了，而弗兰克应该为此负责。逃亡者们马上就要成功脱离魔爪了，却被吉米的亲信射杀。可弗兰克侥幸逃生，并且毫发无损。他通过广播听到吉米的演讲，得知琼斯镇里的所有人将集体自杀。伦纳德也是吉米的保镖，他嫉妒弗兰克与吉米的关系。伦纳德告诉弗兰克，卡洛琳和他的孩子还活着。弗兰克在冲突中杀掉了伦纳德。现在，他必须阻止大规模的自杀惨剧。
弗兰克回到琼斯镇，差一点就能杀掉吉米，却在最后关头遭到攻击。他们把弗兰克绑在树上，逼迫他眼睁睁地看着每一个人喝下掺有毒药的酷爱饮料。不一会儿，他所爱的人就都死掉了。吉米告诉弗兰克，他一直都在为中情局工作，希望弗兰克可以杀了他。虽然弗兰克一辈子都唯唯诺诺拿不定主意，但这次他决定杀了吉米。可是，他没能做到。于是，弗兰克也疯了。