Excellent, Without a doubt!!

best movie i've ever seen.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Directed by Jairus McLeary and Gerthin Aldous, The Work takes us inside California's maximum security Folsom prison to observe a four day extremely intense group therapy session consisting of both inmates and civilians brought in to participate from the ordinary (non-criminal) world.The documentary begins with these ordinary Joes on the bus driving to the facility and expressing their anxiety about going inside a maximum security prison and having to interact with hardened criminals. Once they enter the room where the therapy sessions take place, they're each quickly paired off with an inmate partner whom they're encouraged to get to know before the actual therapy begins.The therapy itself often involves each man sharing accounts of a difficult relationship or traumatic event that leads to the blocking off of emotional feelings. In some cases the inmates become agitated and are held down by members of the group until they break down in tears. Other times, the mere recounting of a traumatic event leads to an emotional response-usually crying or in some cases, deeper sobbing. In one telling moment, one of the non-inmate participants honestly tells one of the inmates that he is unable to connect with his tale of being abandoned by a rejecting father. The inmate interprets this confession of emotional detachment as a belittlement of his particular situation and lashes out at the man calling him a "bitch" and almost ready to physically attack him.Many of these cathartic moments are difficult to watch as the average viewer may not be used to outpourings of such raw emotion. At the conclusion of The Work, we're informed that every inmate who went through the therapy sessions and was later released from prison, has not returned. That certainly is impressive!Nonetheless, one wonders if the therapy over such a short time period is effective in resolving past traumatic events. One clue that leads to skepticism is the nature of the emoting depicted. In every case, the crying (or sobbing) often seems blocked-as if the men are unable to break through into a deeper level of emotional release. This is understandable given taboos in our society for men to express their feelings. Instead of simply employing a confessional model to evoke emotions, there are other techniques involving physical exercises that can facilitate even deeper release from what the famed psychiatrist Wilhelm Reich referred to as "body armoring." An updated version of Reichian therapy, Bioenergetics, developed by Dr. Alexander Lowen, certainly could be put to good use in therapeutic settings such as this.The bottom line is any technique to uncover repressed emotions, including group therapy sessions with hardened criminals, should be viewed as something positive. Given reports of zero recidivism, this is a program that apparently "works."

One of the most impressive aspects of this beautifully photographed, riveting documentary is the way the filmmakers catch the generosity of the prisoners who give their all to help the non prisoners and fellow inmates. The organizers of The Work and the participants deserve a lot of credit. I don't know of a single man, including my male patients who couldn't benefit from this four day event. Hopefully, women who watch this will understand some of the internal pain that most men carry.

Watching what this group of people go through in 4 days was a unforgettable experience. This group of men provided so much support, so much love. The inmates that participate in this program managed to change their life completely. They became people that I would love to be with and learn from. I just cried all the way through. Each one of the participants carries his wounds, the wounds that drove some of them to violence. Each one of the participating inmates used the time in prison to become a better person. If they can do it we all can do it. This brings so much hope. It is done brilliantly. I admire the outside group of men for the willingness to experience this and fully participate. I wish there were groups like this in all prisons and also for women.

The Work was extremely well-received during its world premiere at Austin SXSW Film Festival where it won the Grand Jury Prize in Documentary Feature Competition. This is one of the most intense films that you will ever see and it literally takes your breath away. It is follows several prisoners – many serving long sentences for violent, often gang-related, crimes - in a group therapy program at Folsom Prison over a four-day period in which they push each other to confront their demons. They discuss their betrayals which often involve deep-seated and painful issues in their family lives. They confront each physically and emotionally. They open up the darkest corners of their lives so that outside observers can understand that much of the anger that made them criminals comes from deep well-springs of personal suffering and often abuse. Indirectly, this film asks a very deep question about our criminal justice system: Is it supposed to warehouse and punish offenders or is it supposed to rehabilitate them to return to society? If it is the former it is doing so at a very great cost. If it is the latter than we need to invest in programs like this so that we can return these men to as productive members of society. This film shows us what rehabilitation looks like and subtly makes that argument. We need a national conversation about how the criminal justice system is failing and about how we can begin to repair it. We have begun discussing some aspects of this complex problem including reconsidering the "War on Drugs," but we also need to be discussing how to rehabilitate those currently imprisoned as well. I hope that it gains distribution so that a wider audience can see this powerful and compelling film and begin this conversation about the criminal justice system.