“My Life” Review

As the Santa Barbara International Film Festival draws to a close, it goes without saying that although there have been many great films, there are always those “sour apples” that seem to never reach their full potential. Youth CineMedia’s “My Life” is one of these.

Shot in high definition, this documentary is composed of several stories by incarcerated youth in Albuquerque, New Mexico at a correctional facility called Camino Nuevo. With a mix of popular songs, photo/video montages, and interviews, these youth give a brief summary of their lives before and after being incarcerated…right from their cell. With an interesting premise however, soon we find ourselves watching a documentary that has no story arch, no climax, no ending, no real plot. “My Life” seems to want to reach the surface for air but at the last second is pulled back down without even catching one single breath. It would have been better if after nearly 45 minutes of listening to these teens talk about themselves, we would at least get a purpose or some inspiring message to leave the audience with at the end.

“My Life” suffers from cheesy editing at times and aspect ratio issues. The aspect ratio changes at times without there being any motivation to do so. I will say this, the photography and lighting are really good. This documentary has a lot of potential that it unfortunately did not reach. Perhaps with a little bit more carefully crafted plotline this documentary could have been truly inspiring.

SCREENING AT SBIFF: Sunday February 6, 10AM at the Lobero Theater.