You've Been Trumped (2011) Reviews

• Spineless Salmond

  highwaysixty42012-10-26

  A significant supporting actor in this farce is never seen on camera nor ever quoted directly. It was Alex Salmond (The Gutless One) who surrendered the land to the foreigners and tasked uniformed thugs from Grampian Police to enforce the usurpation. Whilst tub-thumping his epistle for Scottish independence he dropped his drawers for Trump. This documentary not only tells the tale of the triumph of dollars over decency, but also gives the lie to the SNP's assertion that they can keep Scotland self-governing in the event of the rest of Britain gaining independence from Salmond and his ilk. A must see for anyone concerned with the individual's fight against pernicious politicians and big business.

• Inspired me!

  groovingfungus2013-03-17

  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.

• A film that must be watched

  mredwards892012-10-21

  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.

• If Trump were a country we'd all be concerned by his empire-building

  marathon_man2012-10-21

  I've been following developments on this blight on the landscape from the beginning. Scotland has more than enough golf courses and not one of them is more beautiful than the natural landscape it replaces. Scotland may be the home of golf but that doesn't mean it should be covered in courses. Trump cares only about money (hey, he's a hugely successful businessman) and has no concept of other people's right to feel differently from himself. His comments about the residents, in particular his vitriolic description of Michael Forbes and his property (which looks no more an eyesore than any working farmland) are vile and despicable. The man is so out of touch with what Scotland wants and is so ignorant about the country that he actually thinks his course will be on the west coast! If he had his way though, it would probably stretch between both coasts. It's always quite sickening to see sycophantic pandering to guests on chat shows at the best of times, but to witness David Letterman's fawning and ignorance (no doubt down to zero research and not wanting to risk the sensitive Mr Trump - after all, he could be a future President!) was cringe-worthy. Michael Forbes comes across as a decent, down-to-earth individual, not the near-Neanderthal Trump would have you believe him to be. In fact, he is clearly quite eloquent for a "simple" out-of-towner. To lose such a unique and significant Site of Scientific Interest all to help line the pockets of Trump is shameful in the extreme, and the Scottish Government should hang it's head for bowing to this megalomaniac of the business world. They also appear to have highly influenced the Police handling of the situation. I'm not one to shout "Police state" or "1984" but it's hard not to feel Grampian Police are failing in their remit to protect the public's interests. It's already an emotive issue but the documentary was very moving and had me switching from anger to disbelief and not so very far from tears, partly due to my love of Scotland and also to the human spirit on show in defiance of Trump's continued empire building.

• A Brilliantly Made, Emotionally Potent Documentary

  Al_Scarface_Capone2011-08-03

  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.