In this 1971 pseudo-documentary by British filmmaker Peter Watkins, new prisoners are given a choice when all US prisons are full. They can either choose prison time or three days in punishment park where they must trek 50 miles in that time in punishing heat whilst the relevant authorities try to hunt them. Water and the possibility of amnesty are their rewards. All of these new prisoners just happen to be part of permissive America and the anti-war movement.

Watkins’ documentary-like film is utterly serious in tone and looks and feels very real. He used the Kent State riots and more broadly, Nixon’s presidency as inspirations.

This is both Turkey Shoot and Escape from New York, but made before each film and performed seriously rather than for entertainment. Could this happen?

It also documents the huge chasm that existed at the time between the average American citizen and their younger, counterculture counterparts.

There are no exploitation film conventions to give the game away, just a gritty cinema verite that feels shockingly authentic.

4 out of 5 stars