You've Been Trumped (2011)

You’ve Been Trumped: Directed by Anthony Baxter. With Anthony Baxter, Kevin Brown, Paul Cheshire, Mickey Foote. In this David and Goliath story for the 21st century, a group of proud Scottish homeowners take on celebrity tycoon Donald Trump as he buys up one of Scotland’s last wilderness areas to build a golf resort.

“Documentaries exist to tell a story that may have been neglected by the mainstream media or to reveal more information about a popular issue. Theyu0026#39;re creatures that can be erected from almost any subject, given a bandu0026#39;s new lead singer, school bullying, healthcare, a sex-scandal, a critique on a president, or even a fast food restaurant. Youu0026#39;ve Been Trumped follows a story that, specifically, we may not have heard about, but we certainly canu0026#39;t be too surprised is coming to light. This is yet another case of a multi-billion dollar corporation attempting to get the better of the smaller man, further emphasizing personal gain and greatly limiting those ill-equipped with the ability to defend themselves.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film focuses on American billionaire extraordinare Donald Trump, who in 2007, decided to carry out plans to construct an eighteen-hole golf course, 1,500 townhouses, and a five star hotel all on the gorgeous land of Aberdeen, Scotland. The land was a conservation area, with sand dunes that were claimed to have been there for thousands of years, posing enormous environmental controversy. Some of Scotlandu0026#39;s purest, most unrefined land would soon become home to conventional landscapes. I stand with the late, great George Carlin on the idea of golf courses; why must we devote millions of beautiful acres to a game? But Trump feels it must be done, and is willing to get it done even if he has to deliberately drive local resident/farmer Michael Forbes out of the area. Forbesu0026#39; home is located right outside where the hotel would go, and he feels that seeing his u0026quot;pig styu0026quot; farm would appall his customers. What Trump claims to be brutally honest in his remarks about Forbesu0026#39; farm that bears years of history comes off as nothing but pompous babble that shows his ignorance and stunning sourness more-so than any figure would seemingly allow. We see how far Trumpu0026#39;s humiliation and persistency will go; he winds up cutting off Forbesu0026#39; electricity and water.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eDirector Anthony Baxter chronicles the long, multimillion dollar battle between Trump, Forbes, the Scotland government, and the environmental agencies, who Trump feels he has smitten, when really, they couldnu0026#39;t be more opposed to the construction. What we get is a story that was definitely fit for documentation. This is yet another entry in the line of documentaries Iu0026#39;ve seen that show depressing corporate manipulation in order to make more of themselves and less of everyone else. I recently watched a terribly underrated Swedish documentary called Big Boys Gone Bananas!*, which detailed the story of an indie filmmaker who tried to expose the banana-giant Dole for using an illegal pesticide on their banana crop. What followed was an endless array of court cases, appeals, lawsuits, media trouble, slandering, etc, showing just what happens when indie cinema crashed with a corporate tycoon. It was a documentary that completely exercised its first amendment right, and showed how it was being taken away in a particular situation.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf thereu0026#39;s one thing that stuns me about Youu0026#39;ve Been Trumped, itu0026#39;s not Trumpu0026#39;s bitter, remorseless bigotry, itu0026#39;s how people are reacting to it. Did you honestly expect Donald Trump a charming persona. Should he? Due to his highly-acclaimed status, Iu0026#39;d say definitely. But no, heu0026#39;s a businessman, a cut-throat one I may add. That doesnu0026#39;t make his actions anymore justifiable or acceptable, but are businesspeople the kind you paint with the brush of charm? Trumpu0026#39;s arrogant and grossly disrespectful attitude is one to particularly loathe, but given the fact that he basks in the pompous light of attention and relentlessly competes for headlines, whether it be a million-dollar donation to a charity in exchange for the presidentu0026#39;s birth certificate or a presidential nominee, it isnu0026#39;t one that is desperately hard to believe.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eFor a debut filmmaker, Baxter could not have opened his film career with a more deeper and poignant work if he tried. There is a point in the documentary where he is even handcuffed and taken into police custody; a scene which becomes a wraparound for this film, showing the unbelievable u0026quot;every man for himselfu0026quot; battleground Trumpu0026#39;s presence in Scotland has turned the entire community.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIt should also be noted that Baxter serves as the cinematographer here as well, often painting Scotland as the giant landscape of beauty it has always been known for. Itu0026#39;s so beautiful and incalculably valuable, we hate to see the land lost nothing but greedy, uncompromising tactics from a billionaire suit. While this is undoubtedly a documentary with a relatively unsurprising story, itu0026#39;s nonetheless a story that deserves to be told through the competent lens of Baxter.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eStarring: Donald Trump and Michael Forbes. Directed by: Anthony Baxter.”