Dok Night / PUNISHMENT PARK (1971) Directed by Peter Watkins

PUNISHMENT PARK is Watkins view of America in the early 70s. He considered it a sort of science fiction film set in the near future, and actually its parallels with Guantanamo Bay are chilling. This film is about the construction of “punishment parks” in the deserts where all undesirables are being held. Watkins’ films tend to be banned in the country he makes them in, and it was also true of this film which was banned as being un-american. Made with a cast of unprofessional actors, who contributed in the creation of the piece, this is an example of spontaneous filmmaking at its most intelligent…. a pseudo-documentary which has absolutely astounding results. The film remains one of the most controversial, most searing films in the history of cinema.

And, hey, guess what…. when Obama was in office he signed the National Defense Authorization Act, which means that now anyone in America can now suddenly be taken away, without charge, without a lawyer, without trial and imprisoned/tortured indefinitely. Yep, we are certainly living in Science fiction these days.

One recent viewer’s response:

“To think this film was made the year I was born. To think people are still having their constitutional rights taken away, now in the name of “homeland security”. To think this movie was intentionally banned from the American public. PUNISHMENT PARK addresses the political divide in the United States better than any movie I’ve ever seen. A movie like this is so polarizing, it has the potential to cause riots. It makes you face the issue: are you for the people’s right of dissent in a time of war, or for the constitution being compromised in the name of “national security”? The acting is totally convincing. So much so, I can’t see any acting going on here at all. If this is a scripted documentary, it’s more convincing than any reality show on television today. PUNISHMENT PARK is possibly the most important film ever made.”