Into the Abyss--"A Story of Death and Life

Daniela 2022-08-04 12:03:46

Death is never the end of life. For the dead, it is a quiet return, even in a hurry, even if it is helpless; for the living, it is a great and precious lesson, and we will all grow up in grief. The outstanding German director Werner Herzog's documentary "Gaze into the Abyss" is not a questioning of the verdict of a lawsuit, not a denunciation of a crime, not even a protest against the death penalty itself, but-as it is The subtitle says, "A Story of Death and Life". It leads the audience to stand on the edge of the peaceful abyss of death and listen to the memories, insights, and nostalgia of the characters in the film.

In October 2001, in the town of Conroe, Texas, Michael Perry and Jason Burkett killed three people successively, just to snatch the red sports car from the victim's home. They were arrested by police a few weeks later. Perry was sentenced to death, and Birket was sentenced to life in prison. In 2011, ten years after the crime and eight days before Perry's execution, Herzog led a film crew to Texas and interviewed the killer, the victim's family, the killer's family, the prison chaplain, and a former firing squad member. The Captain used the camera to record their dying words and heartfelt words. This is their story, this is their grief, so as an interviewer, Herzog has always been prudent and sensible to stay out of the camera, just using a gentle, flat, slightly German accent but never aggressive, letting the interviewee feel comfortable and natural to pour out his emotions to him one by one.

"Gaze into the Abyss" is excellent; it never tries to sway the audience with its slogan-style outcry, and its infection of our emotions and attitudes is subtle. In essence, Herzog advocates the abolition of the death penalty, but he does not focus on those who "abolish the death penalty" activists, but lets the audience see that the death penalty for the murderer has indeed comforted the grief of the victims' families. The film does not trace any social or institutional reasons for the brutal crime, but through the director's carefully selected lens, we do see the dark side of Conroe Town: the contrast between the victim's mansion and the murderer's simple trailer house, Rough and rough folk customs, an astonishingly high crime rate (the murderer and even many relatives of the victim have participated in large or small criminal activities), and a huge illiterate group. These, although not excuses for all kinds of crimes, are the breeding grounds for all kinds of crimes.

We often say "kill for life". However, as a legal punishment, the death penalty represents not only the interests of the victims and their families but also the interests of all members of society. Does the execution of a murderer make us feel safer in the world? When more and more crimes are committed because of alcohol, drugs, anger, and madness, how much of a deterrent is the death penalty to those who have temporarily lost their minds? The most important thing is that in a judicial system composed of people, fallacy is inevitable and prejudice is bound to exist. How can we be 100% sure that the person executed will be the real murderer? The dead are long gone, but the living may have to bear the moral shackles of "killing a good person by mistake" forever.

In the final episode of Staring into the Abyss, Herzog interviews Fred Allen, the former execution captain at Huntsville Prison. This strong man, who accompanied more than 100 death row inmates through the last 8 hours of life, described the detailed process of execution and body disposal for us. Allen eventually chose to leave the firing squad because he was "shivering and breathing hard" when he heard news of the execution on the radio one day. There is a bottom line in everyone's heart. Sooner or later, we will touch it. Perhaps the abolition of the death penalty is not to sympathize with the murderer but to sympathize with the living and with oneself. "No one has the right to take another's life, under any name," Allen said. Too often, we sacrifice our innocence to punish others for their mistakes.


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Extended Reading
  • Gail 2022-04-22 07:01:56

    The topics are old, but the stories of death row inmates can always be unbelievable. Herzog interviewed and filmed from the perspective of abolition of the death penalty, but the end result makes people feel: If the death penalty can't stop these people from committing crimes, why should they have the right to live? No one in this society is highly conscious enough to know that they shouldn't kill people just by being imprisoned for life. In this story, the reason they killed the three was just a civilian supercar, and two of the victims were killed to get access cards so they could get the car at the house of the previous deceased, and they already had a pickup and did not fall into famine or bankruptcy. In terms of technology, the shooting and cutting are casual, and it has some of Herzog's stern temperament in the past, but this topic determines the overall general, without any fault, his laconic questions are often interrupted or robbed by the interviewees. .

  • Domenica 2022-03-27 09:01:23

    En dépit d ses qualités socioanalyitques:la maîtrise du sujet d Herzog par le truchemt de ses interviews authentiks en apparence domptée et l'esquisse contextuelle ébauchée horschamps sur l'environnemt criminogène,Into reste pas + k'un film moralisateur contre la pein

Into the Abyss quotes

  • Fred Allen: Hold still and watch the birds. Once you get up into your life like that, and once you feel good about your life, you do start watching what the birds do. What the doves are doing. Like the hummingbirds. Why are there so many of them.