Monday, April 28, 2008
The Lost Children of Tranquility Bay (2006)
Alternate Title: Les Enfants Perdus De Tranquility Bay
Review Summary
Described on its website as "a treatment program for troubled adolescents," Tranquility Bay is a facility in Jamaica run by an American-based firm where teenagers who have been judged as rebellious and "out of control" by their parents can be sent for behavior modification. While Tranquility Bay's proprietors claim their program works, under Jamaican law the staff members need no special qualifications beyond a high school diploma, and Jay Kay, Tranquility Bay's owner, has no educational background in youth development. Tranquility Bay has become controversial for the program's emphasis on physical restrain and "Operation Placement," in which new enrollees are forced to spend most of their day lying face down on a tile floor, as well as the fact the program is open-ended, with few specific standards for release. (It's also expensive, with parents paying up to $40,000 a year to keep their children there.) French documentary filmmakers Mathieu Verboud and Jean Robert Viallet explore this controversial "last resort" for troubled youth in Tranquility Bay, which examines the facility and its treatment plan, as well as featuring interviews with former enrollees and their parents, many of whom question the program's efficacy and believe it does more harm than good. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Movie Details
Title: Tranquility Bay
Running Time: 90 Minutes
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©
Thessaloniki International Film FestivalViews of the World
"The Lost Children of Tranquility Bay"
Tranquility Bay / Mathieu Verboud / Jean Robert Viallet
One of America’s best-kept secrets is Tranquility Bay, an extremely strict re-education camp for youngsters, one of which is located in Jamaica. Parents are sent glossy leaflets with pleasant sounding texts to persuade them to pay $33,000 a year and hand over their troubled teens to WWSAP, a conglomerate founded by businessmen from Utah. The heavenly beach where the teenagers are supposedly taught some discipline turns out to be a Caribbean gulag where all contact with the outside world is eliminated, as this documentary indictment reveals. Paula Reeves hears what really took place behind its closed doors: brainwashing and abuse are not unusual. Reeves takes action. In a statement to the parents, WWASP president Ken Kay claims that: "The teens making the allegations generally have a long history of lying, exaggerating and being dishonest."
Direction: Mathieu Verboud / Jean Robert Viallet
Sceenplay: Mathieu Verboud, Jean Robert Viallet
Cinematography: Jean Robert Viallet
Editing: Christophe Bouquet
Sound: Mathieu Verboud
Music: Rémy Berger
Cast: Narration: Denis Lavant
Producer: Bruno Nahon
Production: Zadig Productions, France
T.+33 1 5830 8010 F. +33 1 5830 6869
DigiBeta PAL, Colour, 90'
France 2005
info@zadigproductions.com