Coldwater

Solid proof that America is the closet home of a lot of sadistic hero's. Disturbing isn't nearly strong enough for the experiences depicted in this film . Brilliant acting by the leads ,solid ensemble cast and directed with an amazing feel for every scene. That's rare in a film . In this era of hate this should be required viewing for parents of so called troubled youth. It's not always them, it us. We have done a poor job of building an honest and open society that deals with problems with knowledge rather than violence and ignorance . Institutional insanity and military policing have done more damage than any of the things the conservative movement has blamed for decades . And those of us who stand in silence should own the shame of that.We are better than this in every way , and yet these boot camp rehabilitation camps exist unregulated and overlooked by law enforcement at the highest level. From drug boot camps to conversion therapy centers kids are dying in the care of unlicensed imbeciles . The most terrifying thing is the factoid at the end . No one knows how many deaths have occurred. Why are we exterminating difficult teens. Just say no, to what . Does this country even care anymore . Are we great NOW.

Most of the general public has no idea of the kind of abuse that goes on in remote parts of the country as well as off-shore, and sadder still they mostly don't want to know. I used to work for the State's Protection and Advocacy and happened to find out about a situation like this and had one place in the mountains of North Carolina shut down. They were exposing the kids to extreme cold in blizzard conditions on the ground with no shelter, starving them, denying them medical care, and witholding necessary medication. Parents were not allowed to write their kids or send them care packages nor were they told how they were being treated. Staff were untrained but arrogant enough to think that nobody should ask questions and just trust them because they'd "been doing this a long time." When the place I was investigating was finally raided they moved some of the kids to other facilities they had connections with before they could be intercepted. Many of these places are part of a sort of underground network of very sick individuals who prey on teens they figure won't be missed and that nobody will come to rescue. Parents are bilked out of thousands of dollars usually and it's basically a scam. Most of the staff at these clandestine locations have no real credentials, and many of these places are not licensed.If you are a parent with a troubled teen do not hand them over to anyplace that refuses to let you visit and be involved on a daily basis. One of the earmarks of these kinds of abusive facilities is the way they operate in secrecy and isolate the kid from family. There is something going on if they will not let you see your child, know what he is being fed, how they're being housed, what they intend to do with him, and if they are at all evasive to your direct questions. You're the parent. You have the right to know what your child is going into and to see with your own eyes how he's doing. If anything seems not quite right, trust your gut.I can't imagine why this mother felt comfortable with having no contact with her son for 2 years and why she did not demand to see him to make sure he was alright. I think sometimes parents are biased by their own frustration and convince themselves that the child is better off seperated from them, but that is a very dangerous assumption. It is important to note that not all these are bad hardened type kids. As shown in the movie, quite a number of kids are merely sent away for minor things such as skipping school or having emotional problems. I noticed some reviewers saying this movie was showing up as LGBT. If so, that is probably because some gay kids are sent to these hell holes when their families can't accept them. While that is an extreme overreaction, it does happen.I think many of these facilities don't even meet the international standards for prisoners nor the Geneva Convention. Regulatory agencies need to make a more active attempt to investigate and shut all such facilities down. There are simply certain lines that just should not be crossed under any circumstances when it comes to the treatment of human beings. When certain populations are marginalized and their captors tell themselves it's "OK to throw common decency out the window when it comes to dealing with those kinds of people" our society has sunk to a new low.There are class action suits against some of these places, but not nearly enough of them nor criminal prosecutions and convictions. This is a very good cautionary tale and a wake-up call to what is really happening in the juvenile detention industry. None of this builds character nor does it teach young people to have compassion for others when they're shown nothing but cruelty.

Brad Lunders (P.J. Boudousque) is a teenager forcefully abducted from his home in the middle of the night with his mother's consent to a harsh wilderness reform facility. There is no contact with the outside world and the retired war colonel in charge prides himself on breaking an inmate's spirit in order to correct delinquent behavior. First let me say that I don't normally watch these movies because they tend to be too brutal, second they usually aren't very good. For the cast list see someone else's review I will focus on P.J. Boudousque as the troubled but not excessively so young man whose parents see him as a huge problem. He is superb as is the rest of the cast. Is it brutal, yes it is but not horrifyingly so. Do I as a human being approve of this type of rehabilitation of youngsters? No, I don't and this movie could tell you why. I do recommend it but not for everyone.

As you watch this tragic reenactment of a juvenile rehab center, keep in mind there are no laws or oversightfor these facilities. We have betrayed our children. Didn't you think this was something from years and years ago?It still goes on. I can't imagine the pain and suffering that REALLY took place at these centers.I highly recommend this film for ALL PARENTS. Parents do this because they love their kids andare desperately trying to help their child. BUT.....They don't understand the dangers.

I knew this was a winner when I saw the trailer. Oh yes I was right. Very solid acting, and very believable performances all the way around. There were scenes in this movie that I had to turn my head from. These boys were beat, tortured, and some killed. Not a place where ANYONE should be.

It is tragic how Juvenile facilities are not regulated Federally, I was locked up at 15 by an abusive step dad and can speak of the horrors that exist in these places. I am shocked by the system but really shocked how little light is shown on this subject. A very small percent of teens come out of these places better, most are bitter, broken, distraught, alone and very untrusting. Glad this film was made.

This movie was really interesting and eye opening. If you plan to send your kids off to a 'boot camp' for rehabilitation, do your research first...

Good movie about a juvenile prison camp with brutal guards. Good acting and film quality.