Warrendale
Directed by Allan King
Canada/1967
Allan King Associates for Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
Repeat viewing/Criterion Channel
[box] Tagline: Adults think it’s about kids. Kids know it’s about adults.[/box]
Sans voice over narration, this documentary examines seven weeks at Warrendale, a home for emotionally disturbed children outside Toronto, Canada. Along with TLC, the main treatment method seems to be physically restraining the children, who fight back vigorously, when they act out.
I am rarely in favor of talking heads but here I could have used a lot more explanation. Not to be told what to think but to know some of the rationale behind the experiments. Do the kids get better? Or is this torture for them? We don’t know. You have to admire the dedication of the therapists, who must have sustained numerous bruises every day.
