Boot Camp (film)

''Boot Camp'', also released in the UK as ''Punishment'', is a 2008 psychological thriller film written by Agatha Dominik and John Cox and directed by Christian Duguay.

The film's working title was ''Straight Edge'' and it was shot in Fiji as the first film to utilize the southwest Pacific Ocean island country's five-year-old incentive program that had been designed to create jobs while building a film production infrastructure. It is about teenagers sent to a rehabilitation camp (in Fiji) who are then abused and brainwashed. The film stars Mila Kunis, Gregory Smith and Peter Stormare. The filming began on October 2, 2006, in FijiSports Shooter
, by Chris Large (January 30, 2007), "Boot Camp in Fiji", freelance photographer Chris Large writes of his adventures for Sports Shooter, accessed 01-25-2009 and then continued in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

The film was released on DVD internationally in 2008 and in the U.S. on August 25, 2009.

Plot

This film is the story of a group of unruly teenagers whose parents send them to rehabilitation boot camp to turn them around. The camp collects each child individually, and then delivers them to the boot camp facility owned by Dr. Arthur Hail, on a remote island in Fiji. There are no walls to stop the teenagers from leaving, but escape is impractical due to the surrounding sea. On arriving at the camp, the teenagers are forced to wear cuffs with sensors around their ankles—if they attempt to escape, security will be alerted.

The main teenagers featured are Sophie, her boyfriend Ben, Danny and Trina. As time passes on the island, Sophie rebels against Dr. Hail and once Ben joins her, the two escape to a nearby island. However, they are recaptured and Ben is told he will be sent home. One morning, while on a run, Logan has the male teenagers go swimming. However, Danny, who can't swim, drowns and Logan tries to get Ben to help cover it up by threatening him with solitary confinement, but Ben refuses.

Meanwhile, Sophie discovers that Logan has raped Trina. When he is put before the camp to admit responsibility for Danny's death, she reveals this to the rest of the teenagers, many of whom also were offered yellow shirts by Logan in exchange for sex. As the teenagers surround Logan, Sophie turns the attention onto Hail, at which point Ben announces to the shocked teenagers that this isn't the first death to occur on a camp run by Dr. Hail.

The teenagers run amok and burn down the entire campsite. In addition, they go after Logan, who dies when his Toyota Land Cruiser crashes into a burning building. At this point, they turn their attention solely to Hail, who tries to shoot them in the hope that he can restore order. However, after finding out his gun wasn't loaded, he is thrown into solitary confinement, to be left for the police to arrest. As the film fades out, we see images of the teenagers celebrating freedom and swimming in the ocean. A message also appears on the screen stating that since the 1970s, when these type of camps were introduced in real life, over 40 deaths have occurred.

Cast

*Mila Kunis as Sophie Bauer
* Gregory Smith as Benjamin "Ben" Richards
*Peter Stormare as Dr. Arthur Hail
*Christopher Jacot as Danny Randall
*Tygh Runyan as Logan
* Colleen Rennison as Ellen Gildner
* Grace Bauer as Danny's Mom
* Daniel Hayes as Marine Madison
*Regine Nehy as Trina Foster
*Alejandro Rae as Jack Wilcox
*Lexie Huber as Marianne Bauer (Sophie's strict mother)
*Serge Bouge as Carl Bauer (Sophie's strict stepfather)

Reception

Critical response

Choi Jung-in of South Korea's ''JoongAng Daily'' wrote, "From the outset, director Christian Duguay makes it clear that ''Boot Camp'' is based on true events. ...I loved Duguay's message that children should never be abused under the pretext of parental love."

References

External links

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''Boot Camp''
at ''The New York Times''

{{Troubled teen industry

2008 films
2008 psychological thriller films
2000s American films
2000s Canadian films
2000s English-language films
American psychological thriller films
American teen films
Canadian psychological thriller films
Canadian teen films
English-language Canadian films
Films about juvenile delinquency
Films directed by Christian Duguay (director)
Films scored by Normand Corbeil
Films set in Fiji
Films shot in Fiji
Teen thriller films
English-language thriller films