Punishment Park (1971)

Okay, so Punishment Park. I knew absolutely nothing about this film before the recent Blu-Ray release, you could say I hadn't even heard of it... because I hadn't. I don't know why, but I was drawn to it somehow. The reviews had been positive, it had a strong political message that was supposedly still relevant today, and quite frankly I'm intrigued by films I've never heard of that people rave about (see also Two Lane Blacktop which I will probably watch soon). So I splashed out, bought myself a copy to see what's up.

Well the basic thing about this film is that it is a mockumentary, a fake documenatry, it's about a new scheme that the government are running, where you can either choose a jail sentence or spend 4 days at Punishment Park where you must try and reach an American flag before you're tracked down by the police. Whilst this in itself is a relevant topic for a Guantanamo Bay era society, so too are the reasons why they are there. Those on trial are accused of Political Disobedience, they aren't following the norms of society, they are asking awkward questions of their politicians and expecting straight answers, instead they get imprisoned. It's interesting that those most vilified by the media today are not the government attacking our public services, but those people on the streets protesting about that fact.

I may be what some people refer to as a bleeding heart liberal, and as such this film is made for me. It supposes that those imprisoned are imprisoned wrongly and the events that unfold in Punishment Park are unjustified and horrific. The documentary feel is the perfect way to make this film, I can't imagine a character driven story working quite as well, with the sheer number of those involved, and the basic information that is needed, having a voiceover and fact sheet works well, and never feels like a lazy out.

I don't think this film is perhaps quite the classic that some reviews made it out to be, but it is certainly more than a curio. It's well made, well acted (you have to be realistic if you're filming a documentary style film) and it's an interesting concept that due to the lack of specificity of the bill that resulted in this measure still holds relevance today. So yeah, if you're a liberal then this film will appeal to you, if you're a republican then this film will possibly make you quite angry... but check it out anyway, it's good and interesting.