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  A roadmovie in which two young Europeans battle against a culture in the Southern States of America in which revenge is fuelled by morals & religion and used towards the capital punishment of their mutual friend in Starke, Florida who is waiting more than 20 years for the electric chair. NCRV  
 

Beyond Reason: A film by Marijke Jongbloed.

A Friend on Death Row



A road movie across the southern states of America, Beyond Reason follows two impassioned Dutch individuals on their quest for answers amid an unusual group of people; people affected by a grizzly crime. Over the course of her 16-year correspondence with death row inmate Bryan Jennings, Gea Knol becomes increasingly attached to her prison pen pal, a well-spoken man with a significant capacity for introspection. Bryan helps Gea to deal with her life in Holland while his own life that of being a death row inmate in Starke Florida for the past 20 years remains unremittingly bleak. As he awaits the death warrant, they exchange letters about love, growing up and life in general.




   


   

 

  

 

  
  Beyond reason

 

 


Yet, there is one subject that they scrupulously avoid: the crime. When they decide to publish their letters, however, Gea feels compelled to confront the issue. Restricted by the American justice system in what he can divulge, Bryan puts several half-truths in writing. With the proceeds of the book, Gea sets out to engage a lawyer in the hope Bryan's case can be reopened. She selects her fellow countryman, Bart Stapert, who lives and works in New Orleans. His task: to commute the death sentence to one of life imprisonment without possibility of parole.




Beyond Reason: uncovering the facts and learning to live with them. Gea's journey of discovery becomes a journey for all The key figures involved are confronted with the limits of their tolerance. Taking a provocative approach, the filmmaker confronts the viewer with the emotional effects of The Death Penalty.