Excellent, a Must See

Dreadfully Boring

A different way of telling a story

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

This documentary illustrates the silent yet inescapable psychosocial aspect that presents as significant a barrier as any logistical impediment to reentry. Even those well informed on the topics of recidivism and community corrections will be moved by the profound inner struggles, beliefs, and buried emotions captured here.Omar's inner enemy is introduced as a 35-year addiction to drugs. Despite unflagging faith that all he needs is treatment, the state-sponsored rehab programs last between a few days to a few weeks only, not nearly long enough to establish a healthy lifestyle. Relapses mean technical violations of parole and the threat of returning to prison.What makes this film so compelling is that the audience recognizes what Omar doesn't and yet experiences what Omar does.Omar believes he could reach all his goals were it not for his addiction. Once clean, he is convinced, he will live in a land of empowerment - lead a satisfying life and provide a model for young people straying from the good path.Pete - with whom Omar shares a prison history - resurfaces in Omar's life as the caretaker of a transition house. Despite best intentions, the decades of incarcerated friendship subtly affect their new relationship. In Omar's desired escape from a destructive past, he faces unexpected and barely perceptible hurdles.

Besides being an interesting look into the American penitentiary system, Omar and Pete is a profound reflection on how the perspective we choose to view our lives with either hinders or supports our ability to rise above our own limitations. Omar and Pete, although both well- intentioned men, face numerous struggles, which lead them in and out of jail over a 30-year period. During the course of the movie, it becomes clear that these struggles serve as a metaphor for the prisons we create for ourselves when we become victims to the highs and lows of our inner monologues, a point which is eloquently touched on by Pete at the end of the movie. This film is a clear testament to the human's ability, no matter what his or her circumstance, to reject the trap of the mind and choose to live a positive life connected to universal peace and love. And more importantly, it illustrates that this shift in perspective is simpler than we think and quite possible for all.

OMAR & PETE examines how America's penal system treats the problem of Addiction. If substance abuse is a disease, let's treat ALL diseases the same way that we do with drug and alcohol dependency. If you are diabetic, and you sneak an ill advised piece of candy...JAIL TIME. If you suffer from emphysema, and you take a puff from a cigarette...JAIL TIME, and on down the line. In this way, we can consistently become the dumbest society on the face of the earth. Why is it that we continue to view people who turn to alcohol and drugs as somehow 'sinful'. If anything, they are only guilty of making ill-advised and ineffective Life Choices. They are looking for ways to make themselves feel better, and this seems to be their only 'sin'. To lock them up does nothing to benefit them, or society at large. When Omar's probation officer tells him that he is a danger to himself because of his third relapse, isn't this the same as telling an overweight person that he is a danger to himself if he continues to over-eat. Should the over-weight person be sentenced to prison as well? OMAR & PETE was a great documentary which casts a critical gaze on a prison system which is primarily concerned with Punishment, and nothing else.