This subjective approach subsumes the film’s powerful subject, making ‘In Prison My Whole Life’ just another self absorbed agit-prop documentary.
In Prison My Whole Life (2007)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:8
Fresh:3
Rotten:5
Average Rating:4.9/10
Consensus: A disappointing and unfocussed death row documentary that deals with many worthy issues, but struggles to find its voice.
Runtime: 90 mins
Genre: Education/General Interest
US Box Office: $0
Synopsis:
On December 9, 1981, Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested for the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. That was also the day that William Francome was born. Twenty-five years later, Abu-Jamal is still...
On December 9, 1981, Mumia Abu-Jamal was arrested for the murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. That was also the day that William Francome was born. Twenty-five years later, Abu-Jamal is still on death row, despite seemingly overwhelming new evidence that should, at the very least, garner him a new trial. Francome goes on a journey to try to understand what happened to Abu-Jamal's case and expose the truth about racial justice in America.
Francome’s youthful perspective provides the ideal viewpoint to examine issues of racism and criminal injustice, illuminating how contemporary they still are. He travels around the United States getting energetic, poetic, and deeply moving interviews with Angela Davis, Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, and Steve Earle, among others. Along the way, he raises questions about the repercussions and damages of racial injustice, not only to those targeted but to the American culture.
Intricately going through the details of Abu-Jamal's case, In Prison My Whole Life works on a number of levels and grows beyond what happened to one man, becoming a critique of the judicial system, capital punishment, and racism in the United States. Marc Evans (House of America) returns to the Sundance Film Festival with an inventive and stylish documentary that stresses urgency--Abu-Jamal’s life hangs in the balance, but his voice still rings true and loud. --© Sundance Film Festival
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Starring: Mumia Abu-Jamal, Boots Riley, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def
Starring: Mumia Abu-Jamal, Boots Riley, Noam Chomsky, Mos Def, Snoop Dogg, Steve Earle, William Francome, Russell Simmons, Alice Walker, Howard Zinn
Director: Marc Evans
Director: Marc Evans
Producer: Livia Giuggioli, Nick Goodwin Self
Reviews for In Prison My Whole Life
A worthy film, highlighting what seems to be a rank injustice, but one that is irritating and poorly put together.
Essentially a Trojan-horse documentary that purports to deal with the crime, it is actually a discussion on race, politics and the American psyche.
While some of the testimony, from the likes of Steve Earle and Mos Def is powerful, many of the parallels Francome and Evans attempt to draw feel slightly spurious and their conclusions lack sufficient back up.
It’s something you need to see if you don’t know anything about Mumia or if, somehow, you missed the notion that bigotry is rampant on the police force.
The legitimate case for death-row inmate Mumia Abu-Jamal's retrial gets another airing in British helmer Marc Evans' unfocused, oddly naive In Prison My Whole Life.
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