SCUM : Reality of British Life

I just went through the sort of horrible pleasure one gets from watching a movie like "Scum" for the first time. Set in a typical borstal in sometime around 70's this sophisticatedly (in terms of art) made crude reality-spark deserves much much more than this brief piece of blog. Apparently the daily dregs of a rehab centre seen from the POV of Carlin, a juvenile delinquent, this film is about government, state, justice and humanity. The very essence of legality, trust and justice comes to a questionable halt when we see the Law itself permiting lawlessness in the name of 'might is right'. Surely this is a part of our day-in -and-day-out existence; occuring over and again in Vietnam, Korea, Russia, Gulf and Iraq; let alone the numberless official and unofficial prisons worldwide ---- the biggest being the USA itself. Shot entirely with mostly unknown cast members like Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Phil Daniels and Martin Philip this film was inspired by the banned but widely acclaimed TV film of the same name. However, in this film the sate is not directly challenged, and in this regard this movie should be appreciated before viewing real anti-state movies like "A Clockwork Orange".