The Prison in Twelve Landscapes

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The Prison in Twelve Landscapes

2016

1h 30m

Documentary

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

8 Reviews

90%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Through vignettes showcasing communities desperate for prison jobs, people paying huge fines for minor offenses, and the massive changes to communities across the country, the film weaves a portrait of a culture where jailtime is part of daily life.

Richard Brody

The New Yorker

An empathetic observer and a probing analyst, Story suffuses the film with grief and indignation.

Jun 22, 2020

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Noel Murray

AV Club

Story mostly focuses on the alarming and heartbreaking particulars of a society that first criminalizes then exploits its underclass, squeezing every last dime from citizens who can't spare a nickel.

Dec 1, 2016

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Jeannette Catsoulis

New York Times

Arranges a series of oblique, geographical vignettes into an unsettling mural of systemic damage.

Nov 3, 2016

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Steve Erickson

Gay City News

While it may be that "The Prison In Twelve Landscapes" sometimes feels uncertain about what exactly it wants to be, its individual portions work quite well.

Feb 14, 2018

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Glenn Garvin

Reason Online

Story's refusal to use narration or otherwise provide facts to establish context for her vignettes actually damages her own arguments at times.

May 5, 2017

Full Review

Michael D. Reid

Victoria Times Colonist (B.C., Canada)

A thought-provoking tapestry.

Rated: 4/5

Feb 6, 2017

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Audience Member

This documentary shows the all-too-real harshness of those who become victims of a flawed, unjust, and often despicably racist legal system. It's one that gave birth to the systematic exploitation of the poor, minorities and prisoners. Do the people struggling in these towns choose not to move away because they expect to find the same miserable experiences waiting for them no matter where they live in small town America? Have the decades of living that reality made them that pessimistic? It also covers stories where the main source of income that essentially built small towns was lost forever, like mining towns. And then there's the segment on the all-female prisoner firefighters whose lives are risked to combat the raging fires in California. They save lives, homes, but have next to zero chance of being those same heroes after serving their time due to the felony they have to admit to on their applications. The locations have similar heinous stories told with upfront honesty, glaring reality, and often the same-old-story consistency. The Quicken Loans bit does break things up for me, and just doesn't fit, imo. Nice work by Brett Story for the direction, screenwriting, and producing. Nice use of music as well. 3.4 stars

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Brett Story

Director

Brett Story

Screenwriter

Brett Story

Producer

Olivier Alary

Original Music

Maya Bankovic

Cinematographer

Avril Jacobson

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Synopsis

Through vignettes showcasing communities desperate for prison jobs, people paying huge fines for minor offenses, and the massive changes to communities across the country, the film weaves a portrait of a culture where jailtime is part of daily life.

Director: Brett Story
Producer: Brett Story
Screenwriter: Brett Story
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 12, 2018
Runtime: 1h 30m

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