moonspinner55
Miguel Piñero adapted his own play (and co-stars as Go-Go) in this no-nonsense examination of life behind bars in a racially-heated men's jail. The prisoners segregate themselves by race, insulting each other with slurs which quickly lead to thrown punches, and yet this racial pride is really the most we learn about any of them. Bruce Davison stirs things up as the new inmate, one of only three white men in the cell-block, who admits to having a fixation on little girls; he can't remember if he molested a recent accuser or not, but quickly becomes the target of the other inmates' rage. Davison's monologues about a lifelong predilection for jailbait don't quite contain the honest ring of truth, yet are still terribly difficult to listen to, as is most of the dialogue. The scenario is commendably not exploitative--and is blessedly free of being sexually or violently explicit--though the threat of rape hangs in the air, possibly meant as a scare tactic for younger viewers. Still, Piñero's narrative is loftier than your average cautionary tale, and the film--although far from incisive--is a hard-hitting portrait of jailhouse life. ** from ****
dougdoepke
Short Eyes is to prison pictures what the atom bomb is to weaponry— powerful and frightening from one end to the other. In fact, I'm surprised the movie got made at all since it's got all the commercial appeal of live surgery. But once you start watching, you can't stop. The characters are real and riveting, the setting an actual prison (The Tombs), and the violence sudden and brutal. It's almost like being in prison, except thankfully you're not.The story is about one floor of the lockup where the packed-in racial groups appear poised for combat like Europe in 1914. There's a tense truce as long as Whites, Blacks, and Browns observe the unwritten rules and don't invade the wrong space. Too bad they're not making music all the time because that's the only time they seem in harmony. Then into this tense mix comes a guy everyone can despise, a child-molester (Davison). Worse, he's a white guy who even looks like "the man". So he's got as much chance of surviving as a minnow has among sharks-- that is, if the authorities don't pull him out first. And, kind of surprisingly, we wish they would since after listening to his "story", he seems more pathetic than wicked.Two things to note. Catch how difficult it is for any kind of humanity to survive amid racially charged, oppressive conditions that the authorities (guards, supervisors) only make worse. Juan (Perez) wants to cling to some vestige, but he's got to do it within the unwritten rules. And, in this testosterone-soaked atmosphere, the problem isn't just ethnic, it's other guys in general. However, the most nightmarish part is the threat of emasculation, men being denied their identity and turned into substitute women. That scene in the shower between Cupcakes and Paco may be more unsettling than even the knifing in Psycho (1960). I expect this loss of sexual identity may be the most unnerving part of a genuinely frightening movie, by which Hollywood's prison films pale in comparison.
sirarthurstreebgreebling
"Short Eyes" is an interesting film, it has many good points but at the end of the day it suffers from being viewed with the experience of 23 years of other films between the viewer and the production.Even looking at it based on dramas of the time , it would have been dated then and a moral hodge podge of "hippy" sentiment without the real "streetwise" attitude that it needs and wanted to so much. It even has a dreadful prison "sing-a-long" (only included because Curtis Mayfield leads the scene (otherwise it would not have been shot !) , the song itself is so well produced , and without having a wild track added makes you laugh at the pretentiousness of the scene rather than take it seriously.Having said that thou , it still has one or two scenes that shock , and I did not expect the ending that we got , and I did like it and would recommend it to everyone , but as long as they understand the time it was from , its a good film but time is not being kind to it.
harry-76
"Short Eyes," filmed in and about the Men's House of Detention ("The Tombs") graphically documents the thoughtless conditions which existed in American prisons in our not too distant past. Without constructive programs for learning, personal growth and self improvement, physically or mentally, the inmates were left to fester with their own negative thoughts and actions. The results of such ingrowth is presented in an inactement which helps to foster social change. While the drama may be repulsive in many ways, it nevertheless informs on a topic which is extremely important. It's up to voting citizens to wield their power in bringing about proper rehabilitative opportunites for so-called criminals. With men couped up in close confines with virtually nothing to do, who wouldn't be tempted to succumb to unconstructive activities. Miguel Pinero wrote a powerful, educational play, and members of the New York cast are to be congratulated in their skillful ensemble work.
AD
