There is a moment in The Work when a man utters a sound that I’ve never heard emerge from another human being. It is a cry of both anguish and relief, as if a levee has broken after a lifetime of repressed emotions, and the flood waters are finally free. It is the crack of a soul shedding its cocoon so that a new way of being can emerge from the wreckage. It is the groan of liberation.
Liberation is something that every person in the The Work longs for, even if they think they’re already free. The documentary follows a small group of civilians who are invited to participated in a multi-day group therapy “retreat” inside Folsom State Prison. What starts off as a chance for prisoners and men from the outside to interact and learn from each other gradually transforms into a therapeutic exploration of personal traumas, interpersonal judgments, and systemic injustice.
There have been several recent films and documentaries about our prison-industrial complex and racist system of mass incarceration, but The Work is something different. Aside from its opening and closing seconds, there are no facts or “talking heads” to be found here. The camera simply sits and observes men as they participate in group discussions, visualizations, and bioenergetic exercises, all done with the intent of helping them identify emotional scars and paths to healing. This cinema verite approach avoids intellectualizing “the issues” in abstract terms, effectively making the viewer a part of the process. The lines between “prisoner” and “outsider” or “subject” and “audience” are gradually erased, so what’s left is simply a collection of human beings all struggling to live the best possible life.
During a time of social unrest and looming environmental catastrophe, The Work is a reminder that there is value in that struggle, that healing is not a lost cause. Some of the men find it easy to talk about their emotions and experiences. Others resist. But what remains constant is the support of those around them and the safety of the container they build to hold whatever comes up. For every cry of grief or expression of regret, there’s another man present to say, “I’ll go there with you. I won’t let anything happen. I got you.” We’ve all got work to do, the film seems to say, but with community, freedom is possible. The world is ready to be liberated, one person at the time.
—Andrew Johnson (2020)
- Directed by: Jairus McLeary
Gethin Aldous - Produced by: Miles McLeary Angela Sostre Jairus McLeary James McLeary Eon McLeary Gethin Aldous Rob Albee Alice Henty
- Written by:
- Music by:
- Cinematography by: Arturo Santamaria
- Editing by: Amy Foote
- Release Date: 2017
- Running Time: 89
- Language: English
Arts & Faith Lists:
2020 Top 100 — #89