雷内

Through letters and interviews spanning 20 years, filmmaker Helena Trestíková tracks René's transformation from a thin-skinned, zit-faced juvie into a hard-nosed, tattooed criminal. A harsh two-and-a-half year sentence for stealing less than $1,000 triggered René's life of crime and punishment. Rather than reform him, incarceration formed him-into the ultimate nihilist. Prison became home, a place to spend Christmases, a quiet place to write. Once out of jail, René struggles to fit into a society that has changed as much as he has over the past two decades. René provocatively questions the filmmaker-subject dynamic. René robs Helena, asks her out, manipulates and charms her, all the while assuming the role of victim as Trestíková's "object of study," a whore selling scraps of his life to the audience. You wonder if, in a twisted way, René messes up on purpose just to exercise some personal freedom in the bad choices that he makes.