Punishment Park
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carmen Argenziano, Patrick Boland, Ross Briegleb, Sandy Cox, Stan ArmstedBrand: CINEMA GUILD
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 88 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-11-22
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Project X
Movie Reviews of Punishment Park
Movie Review: Timeless film about dissent
Summary: 5 Stars
It took me a few minutes into the film to realize it was shot in the early seventies and, in fact, was about the era of Nixon rather than the era of Bush. The similarities are creepy to say the least.
The film is about the state of national emergency proclaimed by the president of the United States, which gives permission to detain those who may be a threat to national security, who are then detained, often preemptively, judged by the tribunal that disregards constitutional rights of these "criminals," and given a choice between hard time in prison for years or hard time in punishment park for three days. Guess which one is worse? Still, everyone picks punishment park where they are forced to run through the desert in intolerable heat (or cold, at night), without water, toward a destination designated by the American flag. The purpose of the punishment park is to - well, punish - and train the law enforcement officers to deal with dissidents en masse.
The whole thing is so realistically done, including the lack of script for the tribunal scenes, where the actors on both sides of the fence spoke their own invented lines based on their own life experiences, that I had to take another few minutes to remind myself that we don't have punishment parks in America. According to the director's commentary, Danish media was convinced otherwise and protested punishment parks based on this movie, then was forced to retract their protest realizing belatedly the movie was fictional.
It's a visceral picture. There is more than one reason why it had been practically banned (or simply denied distribution) for decades: not only is it pointing fingers at just about every establishment, but it is also difficult d/t the violence and lack of humanity displayed on the screen. Yet, the sheer nerve and vision of this film are undeniable. Though the point of view of the director is unmistakably that the police is bad and the prisoners are decent people, I couldn't even call the film prejudiced. It does give both sides something to say.
Summary of Punishment Park
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