In 1974, young Patty Hearst became a media icon after she was kidnapped from her apartment by a group calling itself the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA). At the time, Patty was an impressionable college student who happened to be the granddaughter of the infamous William Randolph Hearst. The SLA's demands on Hearst's family were unique; hoping to spark a class war in America, they instructed the Hearst's to make a multimillion dollar donation of food to the poor. But the story firmly imprinted itself in the history books when, two months after the initial abduction, Patty appeared to have joined forces with the SLA, and was caught on camera wielding a rifle as the team robbed a bank.
This documentary on Hearst's story offers some fascinating insights on what happened to her during her time with the SLA. Some startling footage has been unearthed, while some former members of the SLA come forward to give their account of the story. Hearst has subsequently enjoyed a post-kidnapping career as an actress, and has appeared in a number of films by the infamous "Pope of Trash" John Waters, whose 2000 film CECIL B. DEMENTED owes a sizeable debt to Hearst's kidnapping tale.
