Ticket to Heaven

Infobox Film
name = Ticket to Heaven


caption = Movie Poster (1981)
director = Ralph L. Thomas
producer = Alan Simmonds
Vivienne Leebosh
Ronald Cohen
writer = Josh Freed
Anne Cameron
Ralph L. Thomas
narrator =
starring = Nick Mancuso
Saul Rubinek
Meg Foster
Kim Cattrall
music = Micky Erbe
Maribeth Solomon
cinematography = Richard Leiterman
editing = Ron Wisman
distributor = Miracle Films Ltd
released = flagicon|Canada September 10, 1981 (premiere at TIFF)
flagicon|USA October 9, 1981
runtime = 109 minutes
country = Canada
language = English
budget = C$4,500,000 [cite news | last =Staff | first = | coauthors = | title =Box office business for Ticket to Heaven (1981) | work =IMDB | pages = | language = | publisher = | date = | url =http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083201/business | accessdate = 2007-11-23]
preceded_by =
followed_by =
website =
amg_id = 1:49905
imdb_id = 0083201

"Ticket to Heaven" is a 1981 Canadian film about the recruiting of a man into a group portrayed to be a cult, and his life in the group until forcibly extracted by his family and friends. The film was directed by Ralph L. Thomas. It was released on DVD on June 20, 1998.

Plot

The film portrays three main methods in which cults are said to indoctrinate new members: low-calorie, low-protein diets, sleep deprivation, and "love-bombing". After participating in these tactics, the main character becomes indoctrinated.

David Kappel (Nick Mancuso), a twentysomething school teacher living in Toronto, has just had a messy break-up with Sarah (Dixie Seatle), his girlfriend of many years. He visits his best friend, Larry (actor, Saul Rubinek), an accountant who is an aspiring stand-up comedian, in the middle of Larry's show, to talk. Although Larry is sympathetic to David's plight, he doesn't disapprove of Sarah's decision.

After receiving an invitation from Karl (Stephen Markle), an old friend, David travels to San Francisco and "Liberty City", an odd type of summer camp, way out in the countryside. However, as soon as David arrives, he can't help but notice the extremely remote locale, the locked gates and the very tall fences. Everyone there is kind and friendly. The first person he meets is Greg (Timothy Webber), a former businessman who tells him of the greatness of the "group". In actuality the facility is a training ground for a "religious cult", although David does not know this.

At Liberty City, David sleeps in a dorm on old mats, is awakened at the crack of dawn for the morning "exercise", which involves everybody holding hands and chanting, then is brought to his "focus group", where groups of people sit around in a circle to "share" about themselves. David's group is headed by the high-spirited Ruthie (Kim Cattrall), who also leads the morning chants. He then attends a long class by a "renowned", Dr. Dwyer (Patrick Brymer) who speaks extensively about God. For recreation (led by Ruthie), David and the group partake in an odd form of Dodge ball, while Ruthie explains they're going to "Bomb with Love!", which everyone chants during the game.

David soon develops reservations about the whole group. His meals are meager, everyone is kind and friendly to him, but he frequently finds less and less time to himself, as he is followed around on a regular basis. Girls flirt with him, but are cold when he returns the flirting. Finally getting an opportunity to speak with his friend Karl, who tends the pigpen at Liberty City, Karl explains to David that Dr. Dwyer's lectures are to understand the "true" philosophies of the world, and that everyone is learning a "new respect"" for women (any form of sexual activity is forbidden and regarded as taboo by most religious cults; the practice of making one feel guilty for their sexual feelings is common). David is very skeptical, but Karl coerces him to "give it a chance" (as does both Ruthie and Greg, whom he develops a friendship with).

After a while, the activities and practices at the camp take their toll on David. In the focus group, he begins to identify with several experiences other members have had. The endless chanting, singing, and lectures begin to wear him down mentally and emotionally as well as physically. One day during another lecture, David is unable to take it anymore and, pursued by the other members, makes a run for it - right into Karl's arms. Karl explains that it is all an "incredible experience", like he had promised, and brings the crying David back to the fold, assuring him that he'll be allowed to leave soon.

Next thing we see, Ruthie unlocks the door to the camp's phone booth: the only means of communication between the camp and the outside world. As Ruthie rubs up against David in the cramped booth, David, under the group's instructions, speaks to his parents, telling them he will not be coming home for awhile, assuring them he is working on a "major project", so they will not worry. David is then brought to the camp's "church", run by the enigmatic Ingrid (Meg Foster). Ingrid instructs the group to pray to photos of their "true parents": "Father", an Asian businessman, the leader of the cult. David and Greg soon graduate from Liberty City and are put to work as volunteer laborers for the organization. No longer at the camp, they now sleep in one of the group's vans, awakening every morning to a cassette tape of Father giving them instructions: he instructs them that, while they are working "for God", they are forbidden to either eat or sleep, and must sell as many of their wares (candy, flowers, candles, et al.) as possible. The motto of the group's "Father" is: "Stay awake, bring in the money, smash out Satan!" - where "Satan" in fact refers to critics of the cult.

David sets out to work, led by group leader Patrick (Robert Joy). They run from place to place, trying to cover as much territory as possible. David is shocked when Patrick lies to a customer (David Main), but Patrick explains that they are only using "Satan's" methods to do "God's" work, and that it is okay because "it's only Satan's money we're taking." The outsiders (non-members) are "spiritually" dying, but the members are selling them the titular object. Convinced, David follows along, and is discouraged from asking questions about the group or its methods.

One day, while waiting for the van, David mischievously sneaks into a nearby diner and treats himself to a hamburger. No one is watching him - except himself. Feeling guilty, he goes to the bathroom and purges, then starts chanting. When a diner worker (Les Rubie) asks if he's okay, David, panic-stricken, runs away. He then runs willy-nilly through San Francisco in an attempt to flee. When he can no longer run, he calls Larry for help. Before Larry can come to the phone, however, Ingrid suddenly appears and tells David to hang up the phone. David, completely drained, hangs up and is herded back into the waiting van.

During a recruitment party, Greg confides to David that he has lost faith with the group and plans to escape. Ingrid then summons David to call his parents, and he lies to them again as per instructions, so they won't worry. David tells Ingrid about Greg, and Ingrid instructs Patrick to have Greg "love bombed" and sent back to Liberty City.

Meanwhile Larry is concerned about David's call from earlier. Suspecting the truth, he confides to David's parents, Morely (Paul Soles) and Esther (Marcia Diamond), who dismiss Larry's concerns. Larry asks his boss, Mr. Stone (Harvey Atkin) for some time off so he can visit David.

In a diner in San Francisco, Larry meets up with David, who is escorted by Patrick and Ingrid. He orders food for David, but Ingrid merely cuts the food up, not permitting David to touch it. Larry is shocked at the changes he finds in David's personality. David vaguely tells Larry of his "major project", but when Larry inquires further, even asking that David come home for a few days, the trio depart. Ingrid suggests Larry come to Liberty City where he and David may talk further.

At the camp, Larry is encouraged to perform his stand-up routine during a welcoming party, but gets a cold reception when he jokes about the group. He is advised by one attendee, a tall man named Eric (Guy Boyd), not to cooperate.

While out selling his wares with a fellow member, Lisa (Jennifer Dale), a car pulls up and two men pull her inside, then drive off. At the church, Ingrid tells the congregation that "Satan" uses the group's own parents to "corrupt them". Ingrid then teaches the cult members how to commit suicide in the event that their parents attempt to forcibly remove them from the facilities. "Across for a hospital(gesturing on her wrists), down for "death"!" Lisa is soon returned via a police car, to the great delight of the group. In church, she tells them she "saw Satan in the eyes of my father", proferring her slit wrists.

Larry, meanwhile, has fallen under the sway of the group and is now on the road to becoming a cult member just like David. Fortunately, however, Eric intervenes and helps Larry escape from the camp, jumping the fence. Eric explains to Larry about the group and their methods. He is currently looking for his sister, who is a cult member.

Returning home, Larry tells everyone of David's situation. Larry then devises a strategy to free his friend and restore his freedom of thought. A plan is set involving Mr. & Mrs. Kappel, Danny (Michael Zelniker), David's brother, ex-girlfriend Sarah and the sympathetic Mr. Stone.

David waits at the airport with Patrick and Ingrid to meet with Sarah, who they intend to indoctrinate into the group. David is surprised when his mother Esther arrives as well, as she was "dying to see him". Going to dinner, Esther asks to stop by her hotel so she may change clothes.

At the hotel, everyone is waiting. When Esther excuses herself into the bathroom, Larry, Eric, along with Danny, burst in the room and seize David. Sarah struggles with Ingrid while Patrick attempts to escape in the car. Larry grabs Patrick's keys while Mr. Stone holds Patrick at bay. The whole group, carrying David, get away in another car.

David is taken to the house of Eric's landlady, Mrs. Foster (Doris Petrie), and put in an empty room to prevent him from harming himself. He is given food, but refuses to eat. He won't talk to anyone, chanting Father's motto repeatedly. Contacting David's parents, Larry discovers that they have been arrested in regards to David's kidnapping. Morely tells Larry to "do what you've gotta do" before hanging up. When Larry tells David of the news, David tells them charges won't be pressed if they let him go.

Everyone is tense as they know they could be caught and arrested at any minute. They hear the news of David's kidnapping on the radio, and the cult's attempts to locate him. Finally, the deprogrammer, a no-nonsense man named Linc Strunc (R.H. Thomson), arrives. He immediately proceeds to intimidate David, explaining "in order to get him to think, he has to "feel" "something". Fear is "primal".

David is visited by his old friend Greg, who is now out of the cult. David accuses Greg of trying to "tempt" him. Linc asks David about the Bible - David has never read it. "Only Father can interpret its meaning." Linc offers up a book written by Father, showing him the "true" agenda of the group. David tries to block things out by chanting, but this proves difficult, as Linc throws more facts at him. Linc finally makes leeway with David when he exposes a major hypocrisy in Father's teaching.

Linc then reviews David's cult agenda with Father's lifestyle, informing David exactly where all the money goes; namely, in Father's pocket. David counters that Father is doing it for God, but when Linc tells him of Father's weapons factory, David, enraged, calls Linc a liar. However, Linc provides more information proving his case.

David, now very disillusioned, asks Linc who the true messiah is. Linc tells him he has no answers there, only that Father and his cult are a lie. When David asks of "true love", he only needs to look around him: at Larry, Danny, Sarah, his parents, and everything they've done for him, and still are enduring for him. Crying, he embraces them all. Linc then reveals how he knows so much about Father: he himself is a former cult member.

David drops all charges and his parents are released. Everyone reunites and embraces outside Mrs. Foster's house. Just before the film ends, however, a car pulls up. Out of the car comes Ingrid, Ruthie, Patrick and Lisa, who look at David questioningly. David pays them no mind and continues hugging his parents, although one gets the feeling that David is not sure if he's made the right decision.

Production

The film is based on the non-fiction book "" by Josh Freed, which describes Freed and his friend (whom he calls 'Benji Miller') and their negative experiences with the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church. When Benji's friends finally found him, he had become a frail figure who sold flowers in the street to serve his master. Freed tried to understand what had happened to his friend, and went through the first stages of Moonie indoctrination himself, then organized an attempt to kidnap and deprogram his friend. The attempt was led by Benji's parents, who were subsequently arrested for trying to win back their son.cite news | last =Maslin | first =Janet | coauthors = | title ='Ticket to Heaven,' A Sleeper About Cults | work =The New York Times | pages = | language = | publisher =The New York Times Company | date =November 13, 1981 | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0CE1DA113BF930A25752C1A967948260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all | accessdate = 2007-11-23 ] The deprogramming was done by Ford Greene. [ [http://www.alternet.org/mediaculture/79529/?page=entire Who Is Rev. Moon? 'Returning Lord,' 'Messiah,' Publisher of the Washington Times] , AlterNet, March 15, 2008, by John Gorenfeld]

The film does not refer to Reverend Moon or the Unification Church by name but makes little effort to disguise the identity of the organization.

Awards

"Ticket to Heaven" was nominated for fourteen 1982 Genie Awards, and won four :

See also

*3rd Genie Awards
*Cults and new religious movements in literature and popular culture
*List of fictional religions
*Parody religion
*Religious satire

References

External links

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* [http://reel.com/movie.asp?MID=2143 Reel.com]