Feels a descendant of The Fifth Seal and The Round-Up. While there are flashes of transcendence, especially the final shot, it feels self-relegated to the immediate confines of the prison. I’m sure the palpability of the cultural conflicts would resonate more deeply were I more personally connected to the subject matter. As it stands, it’s just an up close and personal look at political imprisonment and the flavourful dreams of the imprisoned. There’s a striking line by the oldest prisoner about this reality not being what Marx wanted. It doesn’t dive much further into the specifics of this though. The romance remembered, probably the longest-single memory, is the least interesting to me. It’s not exactly unique and even feels overly polished. Overall I did like the film, but feels relatively minor despite some weighty ingredients.

Feels a descendant of The Fifth Seal and The Round-Up. While there are flashes of transcendence, especially the final shot, it feels self-relegated to the immediate confines of the prison. I’m sure the palpability of the cultural conflicts would resonate more deeply were I more personally connected to the subject matter. As it stands, it’s just an up close and personal look at political imprisonment and the flavourful dreams of the imprisoned. There’s a striking line by the oldest prisoner about this reality not being what Marx wanted. It doesn’t dive much further into the specifics of this though. The romance remembered, probably the longest-single memory, is the least interesting to me. It’s not exactly unique and even feels overly polished. Overall I did like the film, but feels relatively minor despite some weighty ingredients.