“Into The Abyss” a tragic, yet compelling tale

Every since I was introduced to Werner Herzog with his documentary ‘Grizzly Man’ I’ve found him to be a fascinating film maker. Herzog has a keen eye and an ability to go deep inside a story, providing different insight and deep retrospective.
He does it again in his latest film, “Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life.” This documentary supports a compelling case against the death penalty, while also showing the tragic correlation of poverty and crime.
Herzog’s film centers around Michael Perry and Jason Burkett, two Texas teens who were implicated in the deaths of three people over an automobile. Perry was convicted of triple homicide and interviewed for the film eight days before he was executed. Burkett received a life sentence for his involvement, claiming he had nothing to do with the murders. (Perry on the other hand claims Burkett murdered the three people and he did nothing).
There interviews are compelling enough, but where Herzog’s film really soars is his interviews with police officers, the victims’ families, and Burkett’s father – also serving a life sentence in prison.
It’s those moments where I was really moved. This is a story for the innocent bystanders and how their lives are forever changed by something as trivial as an automobile. The strongest scene in the film involves Burkett’s father – telling how he pleaded for his son’s life to be spared during sentencing. The father talks about his regret, being a career criminal in and out of jail who was never there for his son and how it may have been part of the reason why Jason wound up the way he did.
Burkett’s father also talks about the worst moment of his life, riding to prison handcuffed to his son. It’s these moments that compellingly illustrate the endless cycle of crime and how class structure can contribute to that cycle.
Herzog also makes strong arguments against the death penalty that, even if you don’t agree, will have to thinking long after the movie has ended.

Grade: B+

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