Tag Archives: Prison

The Alabama Solution (2025) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The systemic failures of Alabama prisons

Posted on January 21, 2026 by kaist455

HBO documentary film “The Alabama Solution” is often sobering as presenting the alarming failures of the prison system of the state of Alabama in US. It may not surprise you much if you have ever heard about how problematic the … Continue reading →

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Home Behind Bars (2025) ☆☆☆(3/4): Meeting the daughter of an inmate

Posted on October 18, 2025 by kaist455

South Korean film “Home Behind Bars” is a somber but touching human drama about one seasoned female prison guard gradually discovering that she does have a heart to feel. Leisurely following her emotional journey involved with one particular inmate and … Continue reading →

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Sing Sing (2023) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): As they prepare for another show in their prison

Posted on September 22, 2024 by kaist455

It is always fascinating for me to observe different people and lives via good movies, and “Sing Sing” is one of such terrific films. Although most of its main characters are quite different from me in many aspects, I observed … Continue reading →

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Daughters (2024) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Imprisoned fathers reconnecting with their daughters

Posted on August 17, 2024 by kaist455

Netflix documentary film “Daughters”, which was released a few days ago, presents an aching human story of a bunch of prisoners trying to reconnect with their young daughters. As frequently alternating between these two different groups, the documentary lets us … Continue reading →

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The Shawshank Redemption (1994) ☆☆☆☆(4/4): More than a prison break

Posted on May 16, 2024 by kaist455

It has been nearly 30 years since I watched Frank Darabont’s “The Shawshank Redemption” for the first time. As far as I remember, I watched it at least three times, and I saw it again a local movie theater yesterday … Continue reading →

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Crown Heights (2017) ☆☆☆(3/4): A harrowing real-life drama of legal injustice

Posted on June 18, 2023 by kaist455

“Crown Heights”, which is currently available on Amazon Prime, presents a harrowing drama based on one infuriating real-life case of legal injustice. Alternating between one wrongfully incarcerated man and his best friend willing to help him as much as possible … Continue reading →

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A Hero (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Another complex moral drama from Asghar Farhadi

Posted on January 24, 2022 by kaist455

Iranian film “A Hero”, which was released on Amazon Prime in US in last week, is another knockout work from Asghar Farhadi, a masterful Iranian filmmaker who suddenly became quite more prominent to many of us thanks to his great … Continue reading →

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Attica (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Five Days in Attica, 1971

Posted on December 31, 2021 by kaist455

Documentary film “Attica” looks into the uprising at the Attica Correctional Facility, New York in 1971, and it tells and shows much more than what I vaguely knew about this incident. To be frank with you, I only came to … Continue reading →

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Night of the Kings (2020) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Stories for surviving his first night in prison

Posted on November 29, 2021 by kaist455

“Night of the Kings”, which was selected as Ivory Coast’s official entry to Best International Film Oscar in last year (It was included in the shortlist although it was not subsequently nominated), is a little but extraordinary film to be … Continue reading →

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Time (2020) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Her time without her husband

Posted on October 25, 2020 by kaist455

Documentary film “Time”, which was released on Amazon Prime several days ago, gives us a somber but powerful presentation of the personal reflections from one seemingly ordinary but remarkably resilient American woman. As freely alternating between her past and present, … Continue reading →

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