Review of Punishment Park (1971) by Robert S — 06 Nov 2011

This is an extraordinary film, very much thought provoking and deeply depressing. One of the best Shockumentary I have seen so far. This is like a troubling document from a time when the US seemed about to tip into chaos and the powers that be would have gone to unimaginable lengths to maintain their control. But what gives Punishment Park its quite substantial punch is the absolutely palpable air of paranoia that pass through in every scene. The film flips back and forth between one Corrective Group's miserable odyssey across the desert and the next Group's tribunal hearings. One of the best aspects of the film is those heated tribunal sessions.

"I don't have to call you what you are, you know what you are...better than I do.".

According to Wikipedia, Mr. Watkins allowed his cast to mostly speak their minds to each other and the cameras, and that creates a fascinating time capsule from a time & gave birth to a tale of a generation when average citizens actually cared passionately about their country and were willing to go to extreme lengths for those beliefs & doesn't care about the consequences.

Of course, now, some 40 years on, it might be supposed that the political context of Punishment Park is out of date - but Watkins' film still has its relevance, as the US again & again caught in endless foreign conflicts resulted the untold horrors of US detention compounds in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. Looking back on history reminds us of the differences and similarities between then and now, but still Punishment Park shows that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

A must see for everyone.