In a very good opening scene, we meet a small group who are being trained for roles in restorative justice - societal practise wherein convicted criminals meet with victims of crimes similar to thiers. Two of the trainees start to meet with a prisoner who has volunteered for the scheme, they talk about his feelings around the crime he committed, without describing it.
Another trainee, Judith, who works with victims of crime meets a young woman. She relays the story of her older half brother repeatedly sexually abusing her when they were both children - somewhat against stereotypical type, she seems to have no hostility about it and does not seem damaged. Judith visits the brother who is turned away so we do not see his face, which of course feels important at the time - I immediately thought that the two halves of the story would be brought together with a dose of reality much later, and although there were more hints to this throughout, it didn't happen.
Sessions of victims and prisoners show the groups finding some common ground and sometimes helping eachother through their present and dealing with their past. These scenes are engaging and well performed, yet not totally authentic feeling due to then being so pleasant for most of the time, which seems unlikely.
The film, perhaps expectedly, focuses much more on the victims and how they deal with the aftermaths of their ordeals, rather than rehabilitation of the criminals. I thought it was strange that the two plot strands remained entirely seperate throughout. I suppose there is no reason that they should be linked, but it did seem to be building to that. At times it felt like something in the guise of Amores Perros, Magnolia or Robert Altman fare where multiple lives are examined, but didn't result in the same level of impact. Still, it was a good film beginning to end. Well made, well acted, well paced and interesting.
4 out of 5
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