Bad Boy - High Security Cell
Director Janusz Mrozowski
Countries France, Poland
Duration 77 min
Synopsis
This is the film diary of a 28-year-old Polish bank robber named Damian, who's been in solitary confinement at Tarnow Prison in southeast Poland for two years now - without any privacy or even a window, and no human contact other than with his guards. Struggling to ward off insanity, he analyzes his past and dreams about the outside world - preferably about beautiful girls, fancy hotels and Cuban cigars. But his thoughts about the future start to include things like studying political science, leading an adventurous life as a photographer and having a family. The contrast is huge between the way this smooth-talking macho man talks good-naturedly to the camera, and the way he's dragged out of his cell by a masked arrest team for his daily hour of fresh air. Damian talks about what it's like to live the same day over and over again, how he got on the criminal path, and what his future holds. Though he wants us to believe that "I didn't come from a bad background," he ultimately admits "We were far from a model family." Meanwhile, we see him pacing up and down his tiny cell, asking when he'll be allowed a phone call, and washing his hands 30 times a day. He talks directly to the camera as it follows his daily routine, and these scenes are alternated with footage from the security camera, emphasizing his claustrophobic existence.
This is the film diary of a 28-year-old Polish bank robber named Damian, who's been in solitary confinement at Tarnow Prison in southeast Poland for two years now - without any privacy or even a window, and no human contact other than with his guards. Struggling to ward off insanity, he analyzes his past and dreams about the outside world - preferably about beautiful girls, fancy hotels and Cuban cigars. But his thoughts about the future start to include things like studying political science, leading an adventurous life as a photographer and having a family. The contrast is huge between the way this smooth-talking macho man talks good-naturedly to the camera, and the way he's dragged out of his cell by a masked arrest team for his daily hour of fresh air. Damian talks about what it's like to live the same day over and over again, how he got on the criminal path, and what his future holds. Though he wants us to believe that "I didn't come from a bad background," he ultimately admits "We were far from a model family." Meanwhile, we see him pacing up and down his tiny cell, asking when he'll be allowed a phone call, and washing his hands 30 times a day. He talks directly to the camera as it follows his daily routine, and these scenes are alternated with footage from the security camera, emphasizing his claustrophobic existence.