Werner Herzog’s latest documentary, Into the Abyss: A tale of death, a tale of life looks at the issue of Capital Punishment in
Unlike his last documentary Cave of Forgotten Dreams in which Herzog provided much of the
commentary in his hypnotic Bavarian monotone, in Into the Abyss he allows both the perpetrators of the murder and
those that it affected to provide the majority of the dialogue save for some discerning
and hard hitting questions and the occasional voice over from Herzog himself.
This allows the story to be told from a first hand perspective and gives great
insight as to the motives and consequences of the crime as well as the
surrounding circumstances. One thing that the film uncovers is that not one
person within the story, whether victim, perpetrator or those in the wider
community has lived a happy or trouble free life. It uncovers a kind of
underclass within the town of Conroe UK America
The film also skirts around the cycle of violence and the
fact that you are more likely to commit crime and go to jail if other members
of your family have. Jason Burkett, who escaped the death penalty but was given
a life sentence, grew up in a house without his father who was and still is in
jail for murder. His brother was also in jail. Toward the end of the film,
Herzog discovers that Burkett has smuggled his seamen out of the jail and has
impregnated a woman who he met after he was convicted. The cycle continues.
Herzog makes it quite clear at the beginning of the film
that he is against capital punishment and I suppose I should also lay my cards
on the table and state that I agree. I completely understand the arguments for;
justice, financial reasons, deterrent, making a person pay the full price, an
eye for an eye etc but I personally believe that a state/country loses its moral
high ground when it murders its own citizens, for any reason. I don’t think any
state has a right to murder. I also believe that it doesn’t act as a deterrent
as when you compare crime statistics you discover that the USA has a murder rate of 4.8 per 100,000 with
Capital Punishment in place compared to 1.23 in the UK ,
1.16 in Australia and 0.84
in Germany
The film is very good at creating tension. In one particular
scene, Herzog’s camera passes through the corridor towards the death camber,
passed the cell in which an inmate spends their last night, passed a stack of
bibles and two tables with flowers on them and through a thick metal door, into
a room with a gurney, on which the inmates will die. The scene had me sweating
and almost shaking. It is quite chilling. The whole film is edited superbly and
uses music to great effect.
One of the downsides of the documentary is that it left me
wanting to know much more about the case, the legal system and Conroe , Texas
The film is bleak and troubling and doesn’t shy away from
gruesome scenes and descriptions. It had my girlfriend and I discussing it all
the way home which is something that few films manage and is a must watch for
anyone with a vote in America.
8/10
Additional. Since watching the film I've found out that it was compiled from just five hours of footage, which makes the resulting film even more remarkable. Along with the feature, Herzog has also made four 45 minute TV Documentaries about other inmates on Death Row which are currently airing on Channel 4 here in the UK and are well worth checking out.
