An intense film, where director Garrett Bradley tells the story of Fox Rich and the American prison system. Available for free for one week.
Amazon Prime Video has made the Oscar 2021-nominated docu-film Time available for free, so even to non-subscribers. The film is directed by director Garrett Bradley and should it win the coveted statuette it would go down in history. In fact, for the first time in history a black filmmaker would win an Oscar in the "Best Documentary" category.
Before reaching the Academy Awards, the documentary has already received numerous awards around the world. It was presented during the 2020 Sundance Film Festival where the director won the Best Director award for US Documentary Competition. Later, it received the Gotham Award and had other awards in the most important events of the industry: National Society of Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics Association and many others. Now it finally arrives in Italy where everyone will be able to see it even without subscribing to Amazon's Prime service. It will in fact be available for one week starting April 12, 2021. Here's what it's about.
The plot of Time: the true story of Fox Rich
The film is centered on the true story of Fox Rich, a determined woman, defined as a "heroine of our time". Through footage, images and archival material, director Garrett Bradley.
A mother of six, for the past twenty years she has fought to obtain the release of her husband, Rob G. Rich, who is serving a sixty-year sentence in Angola, in one of the most dangerous prisons in the United States, for a robbery they committed together in the 1990s at a desperate time in their lives. Fox began shooting her children's films at a very young age so that her husband would not miss a moment of their growth. The documentary thus combines Fox Rich's struggles with intimate family moments.
What is the strength of the Time docu-film
In Time several themes are addressed. First, a portrait is drawn of perseverance and tireless love, which turns into strength, to be able to prevail over the separations imposed by the American prison system.
Furthermore, it tells about the lives of women who are waiting for a partner in prison, who are not only caregivers but over time also become legal experts and work to manage the family on several fronts. It also talks about the effects of incarceration on different family members, including on the children who grow up without a father. It also tells about how the different families support each other.
The film is shot in black and white and has a symphonic pace that makes the film even more intense. The story tells of a love that survives all difficulties but is also an important testimony to life.
The documentary has been praised on many fronts. Even Bill Gates mentioned it in his personal blog Gates Notes: "This is one of the most intimate films I have ever seen. It keeps track of events with an almost unbearable emotional load. There's a scene near the end that is unlike anything else I've ever seen in a documentary... If Time wins the Oscar this year, it would be the first documentary directed by a black filmmaker to do so. Garrett Bradley's talent certainly makes it worthy of setting such a milestone."
In short, Italian audiences also have the opportunity to watch the content for free on YouTube and Amazon Prime Video.