Watch Titicut Follies

Titicut Follies is a documentary film from 1967 directed by Frederick Wiseman. Shot in black and white, it provides a stark and disturbing look at the treatment of inmates at the State Prison for the Criminally Insane in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. The film opens with shots of the institution's imposing exterior, and then moves inside to show the daily routines of the inmates, who are shown eating, receiving medical treatment, and interacting with each other and with staff members. The film does not employ any talking heads or voiceover commentary, instead allowing the images and sounds to speak for themselves, and the overall effect is one of bleakness and despair.

One of the film's most striking sequences is an extended scene of an inmate being force-fed through a tube because he is on a hunger strike. The brutality of the procedure is juxtaposed with the mundanity of the everyday experiences of the other inmates, who shuffle through their routines, seemingly resigned to their incarceration.

Throughout the film, the inmates are shown to be dehumanized and degraded by the very system that is supposed to be rehabilitating them. They are stripped, bathed, and dressed by staff members without any regard for their dignity, and their bodies are often the site of violence and abuse. Wiseman's camera is unflinching in its gaze, and the effect is both shocking and haunting.

The film also provides a glimpse into the workings of the legal system, as we see inmates being evaluated by psychiatrists and preparing for their eventual release. But even here, the process is shown to be flawed and dehumanizing, as inmates are reduced to mere statistics and diagnoses.

Overall, Titicut Follies is a powerful and deeply affecting documentary that exposes the inhumanity of the prison system and raises important questions about the efficacy of institutionalization. Its unflinching depiction of the brutalization of the inmates is at times difficult to watch, but it is an important reminder of the need for more humane and compassionate treatment of those who are deemed criminally insane.

In terms of production value, the film's black and white cinematography is stark and powerful, and the lack of music or commentary allows the audience to focus on the raw emotions and experiences of the inmates. There are no heroes or villains in this story, only a system that is broken and in need of reform.

Although it was initially banned from public screening by the Massachusetts Department of Corrections due to its graphic content, Titicut Follies has become a landmark of documentary filmmaking and a testament to the power of cinema to expose uncomfortable truths. It is a film that demands to be seen and remembered, as a warning of what can happen when we lose sight of the humanity of those who are deemed different or deviant.

Titicut Follies is a 1967 documentary with a runtime of 1 hour and 24 minutes. It has received mostly positive reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 7.7.