Video Letters from Prison (review)

Video Letters from Prison is a poignant documentation of the healing process between an absentee father and his three daughters. Director Milt Lee's opening statement suggests that the video's message could be about any child in any place who has lost a father. He declares, "Fathers go missing for all kinds of reasons." Thus, the concerns presented in the documentary reach far beyond the borders of Indian Country and prisons. Writer Jamie Lee avows, "It's about what happens when children miss their families." Regardless of Lee's assertions that single-parent households are a universal crisis for society, the project's uniqueness lies in the documentation of the inner feelings and perspectives of three female Oglala Lakota teens who live on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Through their hearts and minds, the viewer is thrust into a world of rekindling damaged relationships, contemporary reservation life, and the struggle to maintain success through trials, tribulations, and transformation.

Video Letters from Prison follows the video correspondence between three sisters, Jovannah, Natalynn, and Jolena Poor Bear, and their father, Marvin Poor Bear. Marvin is serving time at a South Dakota penitentiary on two felony convictions. Before production began, Marvin had had no contact with his children for ten years. Director Milt Lee met the Poor Bear sisters through a social project reconnecting children on the Pine Ridge Reservation with their incarcerated parents. "Especially on the reservation, prisons can be far away, so incarceration is a big deal," he says. "There was a huge need to keep fathers connected with their children." As a communication device, Lee began to make video diaries between the sisters and Marvin. Collecting hours of testimonies of the family, Lee decided to embark on the documentary. Lee also includes intimate interviews of the sisters' mother, Cindy Wheeler, who recounts her failed relationship with Marvin and the reasons for his estrangement from his daughters. Hesitant about the project, Cindy admits that she would be against this relationship between her children and Marvin if it was up to her. Over time, she realizes that parent-child relationships are unconditional and strong enough to heal old wounds. She proclaims, "No matter what a parent does, where they go or what they do to a child, that child is still going to want to be with that parent, no matter what."

The first video correspondence reveals the pain and hurt the children feel about their abandonment. Unable to distinguish between memories or dreams of the time spent with her father, Jovannah, the oldest of the three sisters, is brought to tears by the interview. She quietly remarks, "I'm not looking for a dad anymore, but if he wants to be my friend, I will be open to that." As the viewer takes in the sisters' testimonies, we see the reactions of the father viewing the same footage. This editing decision creates an effective montage of reactions and emotions for the audience to digest. Marvin, clearly touched by the testimonies, admits his regrets and guilt for not being part of his children's lives. He remarks, "These little girls have every right to hate me." He closes his testimony by addressing each of his children as individuals: "Jolena, you look so much like your mother."

As the correspondence continues, the family's relationship blossoms, and the viewer becomes witness to the healing process. The climax of the project is a face-to-face meeting between the children and their father. Seeing each other in person only solidifies their bond and gives each member more urgency to be together. The documentary ends with the accomplishments of the three sisters. Despite their obstacles, each sister graduates from high school with honors and matriculates at colleges. The viewer is left with a sense that the road to recovery will be a long, bumpy ride for the Poor Bear family, but the first step in mending the broken circle has been taken.

There is a tenuous issue that exists for Native American documentarians who decide to film or video...