Our Flag Means Death

Punishment Park (Peter Watkins, 1971)

Andrew Legge's LOLA (2023) has had me fiendin' for other alternate timeline films lately. With some digging, a name synonymous with this theme is Peter Watkins. Only managed to catch two of his films so far, and they've both turned out to be amazing discoveries. The once banned BBC mockumentary The War Game (1965) is a shocking film regarding a nuclear attack happening in Britain; an eye-opening pre-cursor to the utterly terrifying eighties docu-drama Threads (1984). The other film is Punishment Park (1971), a cinéma vérité take on US dissidents and alleged insurrectionists being tried by a tribunal court; followed by them being hunted by police officers and the National Guard. Both highly impressive films, but Punishment Park gets the dedicated coverage here as it's the most intrguing of the two for your host. Also, it's because I'm a fan of films where people are being hunted, like Turkey Shoot (1982).

Like the film's diametric political factions, Punishement Park is divided into two groups: one is about  a collective trial in a military tent; the other, is about a previously sentenced party, deprived of food and water, on a three day hike in the dangerous heat in the Californian desert; their attempt is to reach the Star-Spangled Banner. If they capture the flag within the allotted time they are acquitted of their crimes. This is Punishment Park. Prior to this, the prosecuted party are offered the choice: serve their sentences in a federal penitentiary, or take the three day run? Punishment Park is the obvious choice for them all. If they fail; it's straight to jail, regardless, or a fate that's much worse.

Cinéma vérité to the core. The cast is comprised of both professional actors and amateurs playing it unrehearsed and improvised. Their words are their true opinions. Well done to folk singer and defendant Nancy Smith, for being so excrutiatingly annoying during her hearing that any sympathy I felt for her comrades went completely out the window; even after defense attorney, James Daley went all Perry Mason with his killer closing statement:

James Daley, Defense Attorney: Ladies and Gentlemen of the tribunal, I would like to read you something: "The streets of our country are in turmoil. The universities are filled with students rebelling and rioting. Communists are seeking to destroy our country. Russia is threatening us with her might and the republic is in danger. Yes, danger from within and without. We need law and order or our nation cannot survive". We might all be forgiven for supposing those to be the words of our President. But they are not. Those words were uttered in 1932 by Adolf Hitler. 

Defendent Lee Robert Brown: Sieg motherfucking Heil!

The sense of realism is further enhanced by the choppy edititng and Watkins's film crew capturing everything in a fly-on-the-wall manner. For a dystopian mockumentary, it looks and feels remarkably genuine. The anger and frustration between both parties highlight the brick wall which seperates them. Worryingly, both have the common belief that violence is the only solution to resolve their problems.

While filming, Watkins pretends to remain impartial in all the madness. However, as the film progresses, it becomes obvious which side he's really rooting for. It's a loaded film. The authorites lie over water being available at the mid point of the course for the parched hippies. Watkins also drops the act once the bullets start flying. None of this is a real problem, if you're able to accept Punishment Park for its obvious left wing bias with the same regard as Ron Ormond's unintentionally comedic, Christian fundamentalist propoganda film, If Footmen Tire You, What Will Horses Do? (1971) happens to serve the right. However, despite the latter being an inferior film, it does at least get genuine props for being upfront with its ridiculous bullshit.

Looking forward to checking out some other titles in Watkins's filmography; particularly his one and only non-documentary film, Privilege (1967). The film revolves around a pop star becoming an avatar to control the minds of the British population. Forerunner to The X Factor? Don't really know yet, but it definitely sounds like my cup of tea.