This remarkable documentary focuses on an unlikely yet beautiful friendship between New York artist Jackie Sumell and Herman Wallace, quite possibly the longest-serving prisoner in solitary confinement. Sentenced in 1967 to Louisiana's Angola prison for a robbery, Wallace eventually joined the Black Panthers, participating in efforts to change the prison's violent, racist culture. In 1972, however, Wallace and two other Panther members were found guilty of killing a white guard, despite no physical evidence linking them to the murder. Today, Wallace remains one of two of those convicted who are still in solitary confinement: 23 hours a day for 40 years. Filmmaker Angad Singh Bhalla's Herman's House focuses on Sumell's creative activism on Wallace's behalf. Learning of his plight, the compassionate sculptor wrote him a letter and the two forged a connection that has lasted more than a decade, partially built on Sumell's touring art exhibit, which includes Wallace's imagined dream home. Sumell's larger mission is to build an actual house based on Wallace's fantasies, set in New Orleans. But that goal proves to be as elusive as the greater freedom Wallace seeks in his legal battles to be released from his 6-by-9-foot cell. Viewers get to know both individuals in contrasting ways: Sumell through an ever-present camera following her studio work and her move to New Orleans; Wallace as a disembodied voice on the telephone, sounding extraordinarily sane despite his oppressive prison conditions. DVD extras include an interview with the director, and deleted scenes. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Herman's House
(2012) 81 min. DVD: $24.95. First Run Features (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 28, Issue 5
Herman's House
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