Punishment Park (1971)

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Synopsis

Dir: Peter Watkins. Thriller. A film crew follows separate groups of convicted dissidents and armed police through a 50 mile hike through the desert, an exhausting 'punishment park' which the convicts have been told is an alternative to prison time.

Content elements

• Pervasive use of the sexual expletive and variations in a non-sexual context; pervasive use of cursing and scatological slang; infrequent use of profanity, vulgar expressions, and sexual slurs
• Frequent portrayals of gun, weapons, and hand-to-hand violence in the context of political persecution - some blood and detail
• Infrequent portrayals of smoking in a recreational context - little detail

Thematic elements

• Power and control
• Perspectives on democracy
• Protest and civil rights

Classification rationale

Rated 14A for coarse language

Classification date