The Farm: Angola, USA

This film should be required viewing for all high school students. It is a documentary featuring 6 inmates at the notorious prison in Angola, Louisiana. The strong implication is that the only way to be released from a lifer's existence at Angola is to die. The interviewing is very skillful, and reveals a great deal of the personalities of the six men. The sham of a "parole hearing" for one of the men is especially shocking and depressing. It would be hard for a thinking personal to see this film, and not reconsider America's hardened stance that no criminals deserve a second chance. It is a classic!

This film gives us insights into the value of freedom from the point of view of the long-time prisoner, and psychological mechanisms by which such prisoners attempt to deal with their plights, including at least one on death row. If you know someone you think might be headed for a life of crime, this should be your Christmas gift to them. Might even be required viewing for the unruly adolescent boys in the family. This film would likely make one think twice or three times before committing a felony. The value of not being in prison has never been more clear to me.

The warden comes across as a pretty interesting character. We see an actual parole board hearing, which is fascinating, as well as a hearing before a board of pardons. Therein lie some interesting insights into the victims' perspectives, which contrast sharply with the perspectives of the prisoners, and even that of the prison warden.

It gives only a very faint outline of some portions of the history and structure of the Angola prison. Angola is not what this film is really about.

Very well edited to tell a good story, never boring and not too long, and at the very least will make you appreciate not being in prison like no other film I have ever seen. A great documentary and a testament to the potentially life-altering power of film.

My husband and I thought this was very well done and found it very insightful into the life of a prisoner. I was so pleased that so many of these men are trying to better their lives and reach out to others. But, I have to say I was most troubled by Vincent Simmons........that he has been denied to a retrial based on what was presented at his parole hearing. For a woman to get up there and say 'they all look a like' shows she is ignorant & prejudice. He was the only man in the line up in handcuffs & a doctors says the girl was a virgin! OMG I could not believe it when they denied him a retrial. I can only pray that someone in a position to help this man also saw this because I know he was in my prayers. I work in a middle school dealing with kids in In School Suspension and they always say I didn't do it even when I know they did. I will jokingly say oh, yeah all the people in prison say they are innocent too! How sad to have this happen and you may really be innocent. All the men that were interviewed were all in my prayers last night.

Burt Cain is a hero. He represents how a prison should be run. Like it or disagree Mr.Cain incorporated religion/GOD into the equation that allows some hope and a way to serve their sentence without violence.

He allowed true leadership to his employees also. There were one death sentence carried out in this documentary and he gave this man hope of an afterlife and the man asked to hold the wardens hand when put to death.

It in our opinion is murder when they put one to death but when it is your wife,mother,father etc..It tends not to be viewed as murder and becomes justified homicide.

anyway this will be viewed as one of the best prison documentaries for years to come.

In the tradition of other great documentaries (Hoop Dreams, The Thin Blue Line, etc.), the makers of "The Farm" tell a story that needs to be told by acquiring unprecedented access to their subject. In the process, they illuminate a host of issues about the penal and criminal justice systems.

The most remarkable thing about this film is how quietly and stoically the story is told. Preachiness and sensationalism are nowhere to be found. An example: one of the most difficult scenes in the film concerns a prisoner on death row. While most films treat capital punishment melodramatically, this film shows the remnants of his last meal interposed with voiceovers of his family and his fellow inmates bidding him farewell. No matter what gratification people may receive from giving 'dangerous criminals' a death sentence, the issues will always be far more complex.

Perhaps the most unforgettable scene is at a parole hearing where the hypocrisy of the review board is captured on film, as if the officials had forgotten that the camera was still on.

The Angola Penitentiary is one of the toughest, most unforgiving prisons in the United States. But it is that way because society's most monstrous assumptions have perpetuated a cycle of despair, irrationality, and ignorance. That two filmmakers could expose such qualities with a modest budget and an unflinching eye is a testament to where film can take us.