Punishment Park
Peter Watkins
In a desert area of Southern California, a group of condemned people have to walk across the desert, without food or water, to earn their freedom. At the end of their journey is an American flag, the symbol of their success. But to "spice up" the game, they are pursued by armed special forces who don't hesitate to intercept those they come across...
With : Patrick Boland, Kent Foreman, Carmen Argenziano, Luke Johnson, Katherine Quittner, Scott Turner, Stan Armsted
Screenplay : Peter Watkins
Image : Joan Churchill, Peter Smokler
Sound : Michael Moore
Music : Paul Motian
Editing : Terry Hodel, Peter Watkins
Screenplay : Peter Watkins
Image : Joan Churchill, Peter Smokler
Sound : Michael Moore
Music : Paul Motian
Editing : Terry Hodel, Peter Watkins
Production : Chartwell, Susan Martin
Distribution: Shellac
Distribution: Shellac
The film only ran for four days in New York before being banned by the authorities. The Nixon administration considered the film to be dangerous, accusing it of spreading a false image of the USA. Inspired by the application of the McCarren Act, a law passed in 1950 in the context of the aggravation of the conflict in North Vietnam, Punishment Park is a political fable. Peter Watkins imagines the possible consequences of the declaration of a state of emergency by the President of the United States. The filmmaker's strength comes from the fact that he sows the seeds of discord by showing the affair as if it was a reality TV programme. The use of non-professional actors and activists playing themselves, combined with the freedom of the improvisation of the dialogue, create the illusion of reality. Peter Watkins twists all the codes of documentaries, providing "an anticipation of the paranoid omnipresence of the media".