Punishment Park (1971)

A reflection of the times? Or still relevant today?

Possibly the most extreme example of 1970s-style "us vs. them"/political radicals vs. the Establishment movie, Punishment Park, directed by notorious social commentator Peter Watkins, uses violence--both verbal and physical--to smash its message home. This is an intense dystopian vision of both the present and the future simultaneously--and whether that future is near or far is hard to say.

Hippie-radical types, all in their late teens/early 20s, are tried and found guilty of conspiracy/treason, blah, blah, by the straight, much older Establishment guys--judges, the moral majority, et cetera. Their sentence is either hard time or three days in a ferocious desert environment cordoned off especially for this purpose called Punishment Park--which is, needless to say, frequented by all kinds of stupid, trigger-happy representatives of said Establishment--cops, National Guard, etc. Of course the hippie-radical types choose the desert. And of course this results in tragic circumstances.

What's interesting here is that Watkins does not really portray the protesters as all shining and pure and good. They're self-absorbed, completely uninterested in how the world really works outside of their view of it, and often very petty among themselves.

But in a sense, that's the whole point here. The real theme of the film is intolerance and while in the 1970s that was in many ways more blatant than it is today, the message still rings true. Intolerance is as American as apple pie and the flag, as American as the shining image of a mother cradling her baby or the bald eagle flying over snow-capped mountains. Intolerance is, in fact, how we live our lives in many ways, even today. So says this film. So it is true.

While admittedly over the top in its execution, Punishment Park is nevertheless difficult to forget. The sight of the radical youths struggling to survive in the desert is one that resonates deeply. This is a unique film by a unique filmmaker. November 2, 2007

See This One....While You Still Can

In 1971, Director Peter Watkins became one of the unfortunate few to make a prophecy which came true--in this case, in the form of a film. I know not how it was received at the time or how it was reviewed. I suspect not well, since the film virtually disappeared from sight for a number of years. Rumor-mongers even claimed that the government had banned it--whether true or not I have no idea. More likely, the graphic violence and language, which are common enough now but still far from easy to watch, were a bit much for audiences of 36 years ago.

Purporting to be a documentary shot by a British film crew about a controversial Presidential order intended to suppress dissent, "Punishment Park" offers 85 minutes of grainy 16mm footage, usually from a handheld camera, with performances that were to my understanding improvised at least in part. The result is "The Blair Witch Project" set in an all-too-real world, with both actors (some of them thinly-disguised versions of both 1960s radicals and "establishment" figures) and fictional film crew falling into their roles beautifully. We watch as a rigged government "tribunal" summarily hands down verdicts against assorted alleged "conspirators", including a poet, a singer, and an assortment of faces anyone over 40 will easily recognize from old news footage of anti-Vietnam protests. Each is given the choice of a lengthy prison sentence or what seems an "easy out"--a three day trek through "Punishment Park" in what basically amounts to a large-scale version of "capture the flag". The storyline alternates between a group of people being sentenced, and their predecessors, who are making their way through the "park".

It's disturbingly easy to forget the period in which this movie was set--a picture of Richard Nixon shown a couple of times makes it clear that Watkins was not attempting to portray a future society. However, as the story progresses, and one begins to listen to the platitudes offered by the judges as well as the rhetoric hurled by the judged and "jury" (a group of police officers and National Guard personnel), they begin to sound all-too-familiar. What may have seemed over the top in 1971 can be seen on Fox News every day in 2007. Life has imitated art, to a terrifying degree.

A few dated comments (references to Kent State, for example) and a predictable ending (though I've no idea how it could have been otherwise) do not in any way diminish this powerful film. We may not have "Punishment Parks" just yet, but "boot camps" for some convicted criminals have been around for a good long time now, and military tribunals are underway as you read this (of course, we can reassure ourselves, they're only for terrorists). With detention centers under construction at this writing "for the event of a national emergency", it is difficult not to wonder just how far away the full realization of "Punishment Park's" dire warning might be.

While clearly intended as a no-holds-barred slam against authoritarianism, "Punishment Park" almost manages to strike a balance between utterly callous "authority" and book-smart, world-stupid "dissenters". Both sides receive their share of ridicule. So, for that matter, does everyone's favorite enemy, "the media" (I note that a Michael Moore was credited as a sound man--THE Michael Moore?). No matter who you side with in the end, you will rage by the end of this movie. And you will think a bit about the present-day world, a world in which it increasingly seems all-too-possible that the concepts of truth, justice, and the American Way just might be on the verge of obsolescence.

See this film. And keep an eye on it. Should it disappear from shelves, you'll know that the final piece of Watkins' prophecy has indeed come to pass. August 7, 2007

Camp X-Ray 1971... this time with American citiziens

Punishment Park (1971) by Peter Watkins is one of the hardest hitting political movies you can see which is to be expected given its low-budget antiestablishment bases which was condemned by the media who did not want any form of "anti-American" propaganda. Punishment Park is the story of two film crews who follow the army and the police in a desert zone, 60 miles long, called Punishment Park. The film is told in non-linear format between a court hearing type political debate were after the defendants are charged set loose and then chased down in the park trying to run to their freedom before being captured, i.e. filled full of hot lead.

The film is set during the actual Vietnam War but in alternative history with a SF feel. Nixon who has bombed the Far East has seen fit to bring in executive powers and privileges. Any form of antiwar movement or objection to the draft is met with a choice between either a long jail term or punishment park.

While low-budget constraints manifest themselves (only 8 people worked on the film) in terms of some production values the documentary feel is there and at times you do question if what you are seeing is real or not. The idea itself is very much a type of "Stanford Prison Experiment" and the cast are all unknowns. In fact most of these people are actually playing themselves and were in real-life dissenters. Some of the cops had worked as cops. There was no script. The result, however constrained by budget, is what makes it is so unbelievably hard hitting. Of course Hollywood refused to have anything to do with it so naturally we want everything to do with it.

Instant cult classic. March 27, 2007

Potent and relevant

I first saw Peter Watkins's Punishment Park the year of its release and I have never forgotten my visceral almost painful reaction to it. At that time the film was a politically charged document with just enough narrative to carry the weight of its polemics through to its disconcerting conclusion. It was 1971, Nixon was in the White House and the Vietnam War dragged on, leaving many of us to feel that the politics of the day had doomed the social revolution of the late 60s. Despite some uncanny contemporary resonances, watching the film now, severed from its original moment in time but with the indelible emotional memory of my first experience of it, Punishment Park feels both distant and nostalgic. Nevertheless, it remains a potent achievement that represents anti-establishment filmmaking as a passion for justice and a commitment to socio-political change rather than entertainment or technological wizardry. This DVD is a perfect transfer of the original film, which was effectively shot on 16mm. The film concentrates its uncompromising message in its documentary style, so thankfully you won't come away distracted by praising the direction or performances, some of which do seem affected relative to today's standards of realism. Punishment Park stands for what it believes and its indictment remains relevant. August 18, 2006

Reality

Regretably, reality is worst than this. Simply watch "The Road To Guantanamo" (Michael Winterbottom, in a similar style) for an example. Peter Watkins does what CNN, Sky and BBC cannot: express the contemporary experience with the use of a fiction (instead, those channels fail to show reality with the use of clips from the real).
Watkins' introduction to the film is excellent and work as one (so watch it before the film). Is also nice to finally put a face to Watkins' name. August 10, 2006

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