You've Been Trumped

'You've been Trumped' tells a true story that should make everyone very angry indeed. Donald Trump proposes building a new golf course in Scotland; the potentially lucrative nature of the deal lies in getting planning permission to build where otherwise would not be allowed. He duly gets permission, and it's hard to avoid concluding that the man's ego, reputation and bombast are actually his company's key assets: that he can get the opportunity to cash in on the change of use when a better (but less well promoted) proposal would have been automatically rejected (in fact, Trump's proposal only got through after the Scottish government specifically intervened to over-rule the local planners). But let's assume the development is economically justified. We still live under the rule of law; and it's natural to hope that the police would be on the side of the little guy threatened by the force of overwhelming money. But not a bit of it: we see how, when Trump disputes his boundary with a neighbour, the police come to protect not only Trump's property, but also his freedom to damage his neighbours'; while the film-maker gets himself arrested for doing nothing illegal but simply for documenting this unequal fight. That the authorities refuse to appear in the film to justify their actions makes the point eloquently. It's sad (in my opinion) that the beautiful dunes at Balmedie have been destroyed; but even more alarming for the side government is ultimately on to be so starkly revealed.

You've Been Trumped is a movie that, hopefully will go down in history as one of the great environmental documentaries, alongside Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth. manages to not only be an upsetting, interesting, and engaging documentary, made by a first time film maker, but a brilliantly made film as well. Not to mention the fact that it is often laugh out loud funny and features a sound track to rival many Tarantino films.

The greatest accomplishment of You've Been Trumped, however, is that it is pretty much guaranteed to make you hate Donald Trump even more than you already do. It paints him as more than just a profiteering industrialist looking to make a quick buck at the expense of the environment. It also manages to include moments of his blatantly lying to reporters, as well as a subtle moment of him totally objectifying women for the sake of money. It should say something that this little documentary that has only been to a couple film festivals so far has provoked a huge reaction from Trump himself. He has made statements calling the film makers frauds and refusing to see the film because its "boring".

The basic story of You've Been Trumped is that Donald Trump set out to build "The World's Greatest Golf Course" and picked out as the location a Scottish beach. The thing is that this particular beach has sand dunes that are essentially the British equivalent of a National Monument. Despite this, he was given government approval to destroy the dunes. At this point, he thought he had won. The British and Scottish governments had given him carte blanche. The one thing he hadn't counted on was the resistance of a few local farmers, who's families had owned their land for generations, against the development. The film charts their fight to protect their land from essentially being bulldozed by Trump.

The film is brilliant not just for the way it charts the destruction that Trump does, both against the environment, and against the people, but because it is so well made. For one thing it looks gorgeous. Of course part of that comes naturally when you are shooting in some of the most gorgeous country on earth, but considering the budget and experience of those involved, its amazing how good You've Been Trumped looks. Even other than in the cinematography, the film is very well made. Even during the slower moments in terms of the plot, the film always feels interesting thanks to the great direction and editing.

You've Been Trumped is one of the best documentaries in years, and hopefully it will go on to win further recognition. It has only been to a few film festivals so far, but it has already won a few awards. It is emotionally potent, as well as being politically strong enough to inspire people to action. It is put together better than documentaries with twice the budget. Hopefully it will go on to have a great run and make enough of a splash to do some serious damage to Trump's Monopoly.

This documentary is a classic expose of the decay of humanity in the compost of capitalism. This is a grotesque example of corporate bullying and institutionalized hegemony.

When Mr. Trump decides to desecrate the natural flora and fauna of Aberdeen, Ireland and uproot the lives of people settled there, he must face resistance from the good people of Aberdeen who won't give up without a fight. This documentary reminds one of the ancient tale of David and Goliath or perhaps a recurring event in history where a free and oppressed people have risen against tyranny.

This documentary gets us to reflect on the state of the society we live in, most importantly on what we have allowed society to become. It causes us to consider the harsh truth that maybe imperialism is not dead after all, just evolved. And it reiterates the need to let them know, for all time that we are, and will remain the 99%.

How does a golf development that is both deeply opposed by many and flawed by a business plan filled with wild guesses get built? Bullying, power, deception and lies.

This documentary highlights all that is wrong with Donald Trump when greed, wealth and power supersedes the opinion and will of the local people. It is astonishing to see the appalling behaviour of Mr Trump, the Scottish Government (P.S. After watching this, if you're Scottish, you may decide to never vote SNP again) and the Grampian Police force.

This real life story is immensely heartening and portrays the very real human emotion and struggle of the local residents involved whilst also exposing the extreme bias towards Mr Trump's development by the authorities.

This documentary should be compulsory watching for planning authorities, politicians, anyone with an interest in preserving our natural landscapes, students going into the construction industry (to appreciate the gigantic mistakes of Mr Trump and ensuring they are not repeated in the future), law enforcement authorities (to appreciate that there are more sides to a story than one and to listen and think before taking action) and all those who seek a strong cause to back.

I do hope this film receives the credit it so deserves by some award or another. Spectacular journalism can be found aplenty and the courage by them and others is commendable.

The residents are true local heroes in this quite literal David and Goliath story. This is a film that evokes all emotions from sadness and anger (at Mr Trump and the Scottish Government) to happiness and joy at seeing the human spirit in people banding together.

Please watch this documentary. I won't go into the details of it as it would takeaway from the raw feelings you'll feel when watching.

What can I say, this film blew me away and inspired me to write to Trump's secretary the Chief Constable of Grampian Police force and my first review on IMDb.

From the title we know the story and the film is efficiently executed. Shot on hand-held and using residents footage with some clips of Local Hero. As a subject it is fairly easy to portray Trump as an evil man.

However the film excels at capturing how the system designed to protect places and people can be corrupted. It explores the cult of personality and the immense power of business. The blatant corruption of state government, the developers, lawyers, educational institutions, local politicians and ultimately, providing the centerpiece of the film, the police. Like Trump, none of the antagonists make any attempt to hide that they have been completely debased by celebrity, money and power.

The film contrasts this with the almost gentle stoicism of the residents in the face of what is in reality a helpless situation. Through their eyes we see the destruction, bullying and land grabs. They stand in contrast to the aberrant forces in front of them. For me what is most shocking is that this takes place in Scotland, not China.

I would like to have seen more counter argument, the upside of development and the jobs the completed golf course will provide. Ultimately though it is the local authorities that damn themselves, in their actions instead of their words.

A very powerful piece of film-making I hope it reaches a wide audience.