The film offers audiences a look at … prison life
An award-winning documentary film highlights the value of group therapy in turning around the lives of convicted felons.
The film, “The Work,” explores the journey of six men — three incarcerated at Folsom State Prison and three free men trying to find meaning while dealing with emotional shackles from the past, said a review in Variety.
“Say what you will about prison’s capacity to reform, but this documentary makes clear that in its own special way (the program) is working,” said Peter Debruge of Variety.
The film unveils the “Inside Circle,” a four-day journey of self-examination and dialogue.
“I didn’t come here looking to cry, and I don’t want to feel like I’m letting them down if I don’t,” said a civilian participant.
This is a sentiment that group-therapy skeptics share, reports Variety.
Cameras capture private moments of emotional struggle, vulnerability and life-changing realizations, according to the article.
Participants explore the past that is affecting their present and hindering their future.
These group therapy sessions are aimed at helping individuals discover the cause of the rage within, in order to deal with it.
The film offers audiences a look at the other side of prison life— rehabilitation.
The inmates in “The Work” are committed to changing their behavior by understanding the cause of their temper.
By day four of the film, Chris, who had been struggling with a certain lack of direction in his life, realizes his feelings of inadequacy stem from the way his father treated him, according to the article.
The documentary by Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous won an award from the popular SXSW Film Festival.
