Review by Stephanie Scaife
Eureka Entertainment brings us the next instalment from their Masters of Cinema series in the form of the little known pseudo-documentary called Punishment Park, directed by cult British director Peter Watkins (The War Game, Culloden). After a poor critical response and with its tough, political subject matter ensuring distribution near impossible, Punishment Park received a limited release in 1971 before all but disappearing, only surfacing occasionally in academic film papers and on worn out VHS copies passed amongst those in the know. Now we finally have this excellent Blu-ray edition that has been lovingly transferred from a brand new 35mm print of a rare restored, negative kept in Paris, meaning that it looks and sounds fantastic despite having been shot on handheld 16mm on a shoestring budget with a cast of unprofessional actors.
Set in a near future dystopian US in the wake of Kent State and with the backdrop of Nixon and the escalating war in Vietnam; hippies, left-wing radicals, draft dodgers and all those considered to be an “internal threat” are arrested and put in front of an impossible tribunal. Led by right-wing government officials and the likes of an uptight and self-righteous housewife from an organisation called The Silent Majority for a Unified America (think The AFA), who when asked what she’d do if one of her own children were to be brought before the tribunal curtly states, “My kids wouldn’t do that, they’ve been trained differently”, which says it all really. This is an American future where you do as you’re told or face the consequences. In this instance the consequences are the choice between 20 years imprisonment in a maximum security facility or opting to spend 3 days in Bear Mountain Punishment Park in the Californian desert. Of course, the majority opt for the latter choice, thus unwittingly throwing themselves into a law enforcement training exercise that involves being pursued across 53 miles of blistering 100 degree desert with no water by a gang of trigger happy cops and National Guardsmen in what can only be described as an extreme version of capture the flag.
The film follows and intercuts between two groups of detainees who are being filmed by a BBC camera crew (narrated by Watkins himself). The first group, 637, are shown at the start of their 3 days in Punishment Park, whilst group 638 begin their civilian court hearings. As tensions rise in the tribunals and the reality of their fate dawns on both the detainees and the documentary crew filming them, Punishment Park quickly escalates to its shockingly inevitable and violent conclusion.
Despite its flaws, Punishment Park makes for compelling viewing. We’re never really given any insight into exactly how the documentary crew received such unrestricted access or how they survive when their subjects are seen at the brink of death due to dehydration; whilst the tribunal scenes, however impassioned, offer no real answers from either side of the argument, instead often descending into shouting matches that offer little in the way of variation and merely result in insults being slung from both directions. Even so, Punishment Park is still a remarkable film that really stands up over 40 years since its original release, remaining relevant in the post 9/11 world of secret prisons, Guantanamo Bay and leaked torture footage that we live in today. The pursuing group of law enforcement officers are led by the chillingly apathetic Sheriff Edwards (Jim Bohan) whose reaction of sheer indifference to being caught on film murdering the detainees in cold blood couldn’t be more relevant to what’s being seen in the media today.
If Punishment Park shocked viewers upon its initial release then it should outright terrify them today, due primarily to its continued relevance and ability to confront the contemporary viewer with the undeniable fact that things really haven’t gotten much better over the past 40 years and we still live in a pervasive society ruled by the 1%. Although it certainly does not make for easy viewing I’d recommend Punishment Park as a cult curiosity. It will always struggle to find an audience, but it is admirable in its intentions and Watkins is nothing if not a unique and innovative filmmaker.
As well as this being an excellent transfer of the film Eureka has provided a whole host of brilliant special features, including a 30 minute introduction to the film by Watkins, an audio commentary by Dr. Joseph Gomez (who wrote a book on Watkins) and a 40 page booklet with 2 essays and reprints.
Punishment Park is released on dual format DVD/Blu-ray on 23 January 2012.