Alone in Four Walls (Allein in Vier Wanden) reviews
Review by on 27 Sep 2008
It’s films like Alexandra Westmeier’s ALONE IN FOUR WALLS that remind me why festivals are so wonderful. This documentary provides a disturbing and heart-breaking insight into a Russian youth prison as we hear from the children themselves. Thieves are mixed with murderers and more shockingly, share similar sentences in an environment more suited to the training of soldiers than the reforming of the nation’s future generation - a real political message is constantly present.
The film’s start is identical to the opening of Kubrick’s FULL METAL JACKET, but with children it’s even more chilling. As we meet the inmates, hear their stories and witness their heartache we are forced to sympathise with them no matter what crimes they’ve committed, after all they are so young human instinct makes it difficult to hate or even dislike them after just a glance in their soulless eyes. However the director then cleverly but painstakingly introduces us to parents, neighbours and agonisingly, one of the murdered children’s mothers, adding a whole new level to the emotional struggle between the children and the audience.
The film features stunning sequences of the children completing chores but whether intentional or not a level of awkward voyeurism is present in witnessing the young children spend so much time in just their underwear. An emotional rollercoaster that will leave you desperate to tear yourself in half just to be on either side of the fence, ALONE IN FOUR WALLS is a visually beautiful and utterly compelling tale of far too many lost childhoods in a nation not built or designed for children.
Scott Homer, Festival Daily
It’s films like Alexandra Westmeier’s ALONE IN FOUR WALLS that remind me why festivals are so wonderful. This documentary provides a disturbing and heart-breaking insight into a Russian youth prison as we hear from the children themselves. Thieves are mixed with murderers and more shockingly, share similar sentences in an environment more suited to the training of soldiers than the reforming of the nation’s future generation - a real political message is constantly present.The film’s start is identical to the opening of Kubrick’s FULL METAL JACKET, but with children it’s even more chilling. As we meet the inmates, hear their stories and witness their heartache we are forced to sympathise with them no matter what crimes they’ve committed, after all they are so young human instinct makes it difficult to hate or even dislike them after just a glance in their soulless eyes. However the director then cleverly but painstakingly introduces us to parents, neighbours and agonisingly, one of the murdered children’s mothers, adding a whole new level to the emotional struggle between the children and the audience.
The film features stunning sequences of the children completing chores but whether intentional or not a level of awkward voyeurism is present in witnessing the young children spend so much time in just their underwear. An emotional rollercoaster that will leave you desperate to tear yourself in half just to be on either side of the fence, ALONE IN FOUR WALLS is a visually beautiful and utterly compelling tale of far too many lost childhoods in a nation not built or designed for children.
Scott Homer, Festival Daily
Film details
Alone in Four Walls (Allein in Vier Wanden)
DOCUMENTARIES
Director: Alexandra Westmeier
Germany, 2007.
85 mins. Russian with English subtitles.
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