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The Farm: Angola, USA

Play trailer Poster for The Farm: Angola, USA Released Jan 17, 1998 1h 33m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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100% Tomatometer 6 Reviews 87% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
Liz Garbus and Jonathan Stack co-directed this documentary, which explores life behind the bars of Louisiana's notorious maximum-security prison, Angola. Stationed on an old slave plantation, Angola is populated overwhelmingly by black inmates, and staffed by a white administration. The stories of various inmates convey the injustice and futility but also the hope that is part of prison life. A prisoner puts forth exonerating evidence to the parole board, and another speaks prior to execution.

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The Farm: Angola, USA

Critics Reviews

View All (6) Critics Reviews
Walter Goodman New York Times ... a grave two-hour look at the experiences of six men, five of whom seem fated to end their lives where they have already spent much of them. Dec 2, 2017 Full Review Emanuel Levy EmanuelLevy.Com Rated: 3/5 Jun 26, 2005 Full Review Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews An eloquent documentary relating an inmate's point of view of being incarcerated in what very well might be the most dangerous and bloody prison in America. Rated: B+ Jan 28, 2004 Full Review Christopher Null Filmcritic.com Rated: 3/5 Nov 9, 2003 Full Review Maria Garcia Film Journal International The terrible realities of incarceration...seem to accumulate as the film unfolds, and they stay with you long after you've left the theatre. Jun 10, 2002 Full Review Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat Spirituality & Practice This riveting documentary will fuel your moral rage against institutionalized injustice. Mar 3, 2002 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Depressing Saturday night viewing. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/30/23 Full Review Audience Member These types of documentaries are always so intense with emotion and desperation. There was nothing to criticize about this at all Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/21/23 Full Review Audience Member 7/11/15 Netflix A captivating look inside the infamous prison, primarily from the inmates point of view. It certainly gives you a visceral feel of what it must be like to be incarcerated and how one copes with the hope, despair, friendship and frustration within the system. When you watch this you have to remember these men are here because they either hurt or killed another person and there is punishment for that.Otherwise. This film would make it easy for you to feel pity for them. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/12/23 Full Review Audience Member For the most part, this is a very average documentary. However, there are a couple of things that are compelling. As far as the "documentary exposing injustice" portion of things, there's a parole hearing you want to see. It really shows the not necessarily malevolent, but totally apathetic attitude toward the prisoners. They clearly do not care about the guy trying to file additional evidence. In the "broader theme" portion of things, it was interesting to see just how comforting religion was to the prisoners who were lifers or on death row. It would have been interesting to get another viewpoint, though. The God angle is not a new one. And it leads to a slight touch of cynicism when you're talking about every life prisoner filing endless appeals. When it comes to shortcomings, there are several things I wish would have been examined more, such as the humiliating process before visits and possible grouping of prisoners into gangs or other social units. Also the pace was pretty slow. In the end, I regard this doc as slightly above average. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review charlie l A semi-interesting mix of bland familiarity and refreshing rarity which just about merits its 3 stars. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Within the first five minutes you're telling yourself "I've seen this stuff before on TV shows" Then the documentary starts to open up and it makes movies like Dead Man Walking seem like they could be on Lifetime. The individual stories of these men and there families is just shattering. You don't see them as criminals, just human beings living with serious regret wishing for forgiveness or some kind of redemption. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
The Farm: Angola, USA

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Movie Info

Synopsis Liz Garbus and Jonathan Stack co-directed this documentary, which explores life behind the bars of Louisiana's notorious maximum-security prison, Angola. Stationed on an old slave plantation, Angola is populated overwhelmingly by black inmates, and staffed by a white administration. The stories of various inmates convey the injustice and futility but also the hope that is part of prison life. A prisoner puts forth exonerating evidence to the parole board, and another speaks prior to execution.
Director
Liz Garbus, Wilbert Rideau, Jonathan Stack
Producer
Gayle Gilman, Liz Garbus, Jonathan Stack
Screenwriter
Bob Harris
Distributor
Seventh Art Releasing
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 17, 1998, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 5, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$12.8K
Runtime
1h 33m
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