The Quilters (2024) Movie Review – The redemptive power of art
The redemptive power of art
The Quilters is a short documentary about several inmates in a quilting program housed at South Central Correctional Center, a Level 5 maximum-security prison. The men take us through the full process of their creations, which they give to foster kids. It's a heartwarming view of charming and important charity work.
They spend eight hours, five days a week, in the special area where they create the quilts. You can see how that affects them in a good way, giving them a purpose. Some of them, like Fred, Chill, and Ricky, talk about their years in prison, and it's obvious how this program has changed them. It helps them develop empathy, reflects on their actions, and free themselves of their 'demons'.
A few of them, like Ricky, have been there since they were young and were sentenced to life imprisonment. He entered the Center as a 20-year-old guy, and now he's in his 60's.
The way he talks about remorse and losing important moments of his life is devastating. It's as if his sadness can pass right through your screen.
Despite his terrible mistakes, the quilting program is his best chance at finding redemption and giving joy to other people. In a way, the documentary is also an empathy exercise for viewers, as it's necessary to see the men past their errors and as people who can change.
Still, it'd be nice if it had just two or three more minutes to go deeper into why those chose the quilting program. It's easy to understand why some of them did, but it's not the focus at any point. That would contribute to showing what they expected from it at the beginning and how their mentality has changed upon joining.
But the best part about the documentary is seeing photos and letters from the children thanking the gifts. A quilt might seem trivial to many people, but to them, it's a way of seeing someone still cares. And you can feel the men's raw emotions when they read the letters. It's beautiful to see their vivid smiles and how they might cry from joy at times.
Sometimes, it feels like we're always being bombarded by awful and pessimistic messages. So, seeing this type of rehabilitative work also helps to restore a bit of hope in ourselves.
The Quilters is proof of the redemptive and reformatory power of art, making it very impactful despite its short runtime.
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