God Save Texas – Episode 1: Hometown Prison

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‘It is one of three outstanding films produced under the title God Save Texas, based on a book by Lawrence Wright – all of which shed light on the history and politics of the state through the prism of the filmmakers’ own lives and families. (…) Hometown Prison is set in Huntsville, Texas, where Linklater lived from 1970 (the year he turned ten) until 1981. He has, of course, already explored his childhood experiences there in films such as Dazed and Confused and Boyhood. (…) In the centre of the city stands a large prison, which dominates much of everyday community life, and a vast network of correctional facilities extends throughout the surrounding area. The prison system is thus also the city’s largest employer. Texas, Linklater reports, has the highest number of inmates of any state; furthermore, more people are executed there than in any other state, and these executions take place in Huntsville. In other words: Prisons are omnipresent in the Huntsville landscape, and yet, as Linklater puts it: ‘At some point, you stop really noticing them.’ In Hometown Prison, he counters this perception.” (Richard Brody, The New Yorker, March 2024)