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is a Swiss documentary television miniseries about the
Order of the Solar Temple The Order of the Solar Temple (, OTS), or simply the Solar Temple, was a new religious movement and secret society, often described as a cult, notorious for the mass deaths of many of its members in several mass murders and suicides throughout ...
(OTS), notorious for numerous mass murder suicides in the 1990s. It was directed by Pierre Morath and , and premiered in February 2023 on RTS. The documentary features archival materials on the group that were previously unreleased, including videos that had been produced by the OTS itself. It also features interviews with former members, investigators, and researchers into the group. Contrary to other works focusing on the OTS, it starts with its origins instead of beginning the narrative with the massacres. It received a positive critical reception, with praise for its usage of interview testimony and the previously unreleased videos and images. It was also complimented for its unique perspective on the case and its explanation of what led to the deaths, as well as its production quality and narrative.


Premise

The documentary discusses the
Order of the Solar Temple The Order of the Solar Temple (, OTS), or simply the Solar Temple, was a new religious movement and secret society, often described as a cult, notorious for the mass deaths of many of its members in several mass murders and suicides throughout ...
(OTS), notorious for several mass suicides and murders committed by its members in the 1990s. Led by
Joseph Di Mambro Joseph Léonce Di Mambro (19 August 1924 – 5 October 1994) was a French esotericist who founded and led the Order of the Solar Temple alongside Luc Jouret. Di Mambro had been associated with a variety of esoteric groups before founding OTS. ...
and
Luc Jouret Luc Georges Marc Jean Jouret (; 18 October 1947 – 5 October 1994) was a Belgian doctor and homeopath. Jouret founded the Order of the Solar Temple (OTS) with Joseph Di Mambro in 1984. He committed suicide in the Swiss village of Salvan on 5 ...
, the first mass suicide by the group occurred in Switzerland with a separate mass murder occurring in Canada in 1994, killing 53 in total, including both leaders. The next year, 16 more would die in the Vercors in France, and a final five died in Canada in 1997. In the course of these events, 74 people would die. The case gained worldwide notoriety, resulting in legal changes over how
cults Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ha ...
are dealt with. The case had many aspects viewed as insufficiently explained by some commentators, with many
conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that asserts the existence of a conspiracy (generally by powerful sinister groups, often political in motivation), when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * ...
resulting. The OTS had started as a genuine project to make a better world in the view of its members; the documentary starts before the Solar Temple, with its roots in another group in the 1970s, following its evolution and path towards the suicides and murders. Composer
Michel Tabachnik Michel Tabachnik (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss conductor and composer with an international career. A promoter of contemporary music, he has premiered a dozen works by Iannis Xenakis, among others. He is also the author of essays on musi ...
was tried over his involvement in the case from his writings, accused by many at the time of having been the third leader of the OTS. He was eventually acquitted in two separate trials. The series follows the history of the OTS, with a particular focus on how it started and what led those involved to join, concluding with the end of Tabachnik's second court case.


Interviewees

*
Michel Tabachnik Michel Tabachnik (born 10 November 1942) is a Swiss conductor and composer with an international career. A promoter of contemporary music, he has premiered a dozen works by Iannis Xenakis, among others. He is also the author of essays on musi ...
, conductor and former member of the OTS * Charles Dauvergne, former member of the OTS *
Jean-François Mayer Jean-François Mayer (born 25 April 1957) is a Swiss religious historian, author, and translator. He is also Director of the Religioscope Institute, which he founded. He received his master's degree, and then his doctorate, from the Jean Moul ...
, religious historian and the only person to research the OTS before the deaths * Michel Genoud, cantonal
Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...
police officer * Pierre Nidegger, cantonal Fribourg police officer * , journalist * Thomas Krompecher, forensic doctor * Alain Vuarnet, son and brother of two of the victims * Luc Fontaine, examining magistrate into the Vercors deaths *
Francis Szpiner Francis Szpiner (born 22 March 1954) is a French lawyer, writer and politician of The Republicans who serves as the mayor of the 16th arrondissement of Paris between 2020 and 2023. He was elected Senator of Paris in September 2023. He was an ...
, Tabachnik's lawyer * Jean-Pierre Jougla, lawyer for UNADFI


Production and release

was a collaboration between the Geneva-based Point Prod company and its French counterpart, alongside RTS and
Groupe Canal+ Canal+ S.A., formerly Groupe Canal+, is a French Media conglomerate, media and telecommunications Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Paris. It runs its own Canal+ (streaming service), eponymous Over-the-top media service, over-the-to ...
. The series was co-written and directed by and Pierre Morath, and produced by . Lemasson had followed the case since 1994, one of the journalists to arrive on the scene. In making the documentary, its creators had access to archival and legal materials that had not been published prior, including videos produced by the OTS itself of their conferences or religious rituals. The OTS, having often filmed themselves, had attempted to burn all their records with them but the ignition system had failed and the records were recovered. These were obtained from the justice system of the Swiss
canton of Fribourg The canton of Fribourg, also canton of Freiburg, is located in western Switzerland. The canton is bilingual, with French spoken by more than two thirds of the citizens and German by a little more than a quarter. Both are official languages in th ...
, who were responsible for most of the investigation into the case. The canton had wanted to release these archives in a safeguarded manner to highlight its history; Morath described some of the images in the archive as "completely insane" and said that they had not been edited. It took two years to convince Tabachnik to be interviewed for this documentary; Morath described him as "traumatized" by the whole affair and that it was "almost a miracle" he had agreed, with a fear that people would distort his words as had happened before. At the end of the documentary, Tabachnik states, "I've told you what I had to tell. Now I'm going to get up, leave, and believe me, I'm going to collapse". Other people interviewed in the production of the documentary include the religious historian
Jean-François Mayer Jean-François Mayer (born 25 April 1957) is a Swiss religious historian, author, and translator. He is also Director of the Religioscope Institute, which he founded. He received his master's degree, and then his doctorate, from the Jean Moul ...
, who was part of the investigation into the case, Alain Vuarnet, relative of two of the Vercors victims, and former member Charles Davergne. Former member Thierry Huguenin's testimony is presented through sound archival recordings. Interviewed by , Lemasson said that in making the documentary he had used the narrative styles of fiction. It was one of many documentaries made about the OTS; according to Rihs, the intention in making the documentary had been to provide a different perspective. Morath said that they intended to start from the beginning of the story, anchoring it around the beginning instead of the ending tragedy, as this provided a different perspective instead of dealing with "the logic of the cult". He also said they did not want to conduct another investigation themselves, as this would have been "a bottomless pit". Though he stated there was "nothing new to learn", he stated the new archival and interview materials allowed to tell the story reversed from its typical way for the first time. He also said an additional reason in making the series was the usage of the documentary format, which could appeal to younger audiences. According to Morath, the goal of the series was to "give a voice back to people who had been robbed of it by media fever." The director takes a skeptical view of the theories relating to the events, with the director stating that contrary to other theories that emerged he believed that the Swiss investigation into the case was done fine, but that Tabachnik was
scapegoated Scapegoating is the practice of singling out a person or group for unmerited blame and consequent negative treatment. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals (e.g., "he did it, not me!"), individuals against groups (e.g ...
by the French justice system, and that there had been no need to look for other theories. He is doubtful of the theories of outside involvement in the second transit promoted by Alain Vuarnet. The documentary does not discuss the more conspiratorial theories alleging the links between the OTS and political powers, as put forward by the 2006 documentary , viewing them as unevidenced. He did note that at the end there still remained "gaps", but stated that he still hoped the series would help people understand; he also stressed the question of
freedom of religion Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...
, and said that the whole series of events could not merely be explained through the lens of cultic manipulation. Morath said that they wanted to show "how any of us can, today, find ourselves trapped under the guise of an ideal that goes wrong and ends up in flames and bullets". The series consists of four episodes 52 minutes each. It was screened at the
Solothurn Film Festival The Solothurn Film Festival (SFT) is the most important festival for Swiss film productions. Founded in 1966 in the Swiss city of Solothurn, the annual festival presents a representative selection of Swiss feature, documentary, and short film prod ...
on 22 January 2023, releasing on Play Suisse the same day. The series was first broadcast on RTS from 8 to 15 February 2023. It was the third documentary on the OTS to air in seven months; a
TMC TMC may stand for: Companies and brands *Thinking Machines Corporation, a defunct supercomputer company *Toyota Motor Corporation, a Japanese automobile manufacturer *Toshiba Memory Corporation * Trans Mountain Corporation *Transportation Manageme ...
documentary on the case, , mostly focused on journalist testimonies in comparison. It was also released through the French TV provider
Canal+ Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
.


Episodes


Reception

The rated it four out of five stars, saying it possessed "storytelling worthy of the best Netflix productions" and a "captivating" narrative. They noted it as being unique in that, while many other works had discussed the OTS to the point that "almost everything has already been said" about it, this one looked into its start in depth, with usage of archival materials that had not previously been released and interviews with former members. said the series showed the taste among producers and the public for documentary series, particularly when it came to
true crime True crime is a genre of non-fiction work in which an author examines a crime, including detailing the actions of people associated with and affected by the crime, and investigating the perpetrator's Motive (law), motives. True crime works often ...
cases. '' Le Matin'' called it a "less divisive" interpretation of the OTS story. '' Watson'' praised it as "excellently shot", a "meticulous decoding" of what had led to the deaths. They noted it as not demonizing cults, as "public opinion has already taken care of that". A review from Jean Friedrich of the newspaper praised the documentary as "well-crafted" and exploiting the typical conventions of the genre, saying it shed more light on what had led to the tragedy and its "resolutely human origins". He praised it as a great feat from the RTS. He praised Tabachnik's testimony, which he said the documentary was centered around, calling it "eloquent" but also "sometimes painful", making the series "true to life". However, he criticized Tabachnik's complete denial of responsibility for anything that had occurred, but noted that Mayer and Lemasson's external analysis put his words and role in the group into context.


References


Further reading

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External links


Full series on RTS
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fraternité, La Works about the Order of the Solar Temple 2020s television miniseries 2020s documentary television series French-language television shows Television series about cults Radio Télévision Suisse original programming