Pro and Con (1993) User Reviews

Good short done in two segments directed by Joanna Priestley and Joan C. Gratz

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 16 April 2014]

This is an interesting short co-directed by Joanna Priestley and Joan C. Gratz. There will be minor spoilers ahead:

This short consists of two interviews which have been animated. The first, "Pro", is an interview with a corrections officer. Joanna Priestley directed this and the animation fleshes out what the officer says. It almost looks like part of this is rotoscoped. It's a fascinating look at the viewpoint of a corrections officer.

The second half of the short, "Con", consists of an interview with an inmate. This interview is disturbing, to say the least. I don't think I'd ever want to meet up with this guy under adverse conditions, like in a dark alley. The animation is appropriately stark and rather grim. The interviewed inmate talks in a rather matter of fact manner about being in and out of jails since he was 11. He spends a lot of time working out.

This short is on a DVD of animated shorts by Joan C. Gratz which has Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase as the centerpiece. This short is very good and the DVD is excellent. Recommended.

Mostly good.

[Polaris_DiB · 7/10 · 2 September 2006]

This movie at first seems like one of those preaching works that try to appeal to the audience propagandistically, but it's actually a very good look at the state of "correctional facilities", or "prisons", or "the lock-up," or whatever you want to call it.

It consists of two interviews with highly expressive people, one an officer and one a institutionalized inmate. They both discuss their thoughts on their situation, often losing track of the fact that they're on an interview and just taking the time to really say what they want to. Neither of them sound particularly bitter about their role, which is surprising, but also very refreshing. Instead, they show what prison becomes to someone who has to spend the majority of their life their, and how saddening it can be.

The animation is pretty good as well. I like the second part, Joan Gratz's work, a bit more.

--PolarisDiB