The Alabama Solution

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2:05

The Alabama Solution

2025

1h 57m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

100%

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31 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

In 2019, filmmakers visit an Alabama prison to film a revival meeting. Off camera, incarcerated men whisper a message: terrible things are going on here and being kept secret. This sparks an immersive six-year investigation to discover the reality behind the walls of one of the nation's deadliest prison systems. Through unprecedented direct access and video shot on contraband cell phones, the filmmakers learn from the men inside about a suspicious and violent death. The story unfolds in real time, revealing it isn't an isolated incident and that the official version appears far from the truth. What follows is a shocking story of brutality, corruption, and a system in collapse. As the men fight for their own survival, they embark on a campaign of resistance, against all odds.

Christy Lemire

FilmWeek (LAist)

Nov 11, 2025

Harrowing to watch but essential.

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Alissa Wilkinson

New York Times

Oct 3, 2025

Bringing several types of filmmaking, amateur and professional, together for a movie like this makes that message all the more powerful.

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Robert Abele

Los Angeles Times

Oct 3, 2025

The movie, its many strands brilliantly threaded for maximum impact, is also an argument for the necessity of independent inquiry, and for a reassessment of what a “true crime” documentary means when the lion’s share of attention goes to sensationalized.

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Rich Cline

Shadows on the Wall

May 21, 2026

4/5

Many clips are hard to watch, but the film is sharply edited, taking a nuanced approach to this shocking situation. And it's powerfully inspirational to see these locked-up men unite to take on an unjust system.

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Margot Harrison

Seven Days (VT)

Apr 15, 2026

10/10

By the end of The Alabama Solution, it’s hard not to agree with Council that prison labor is slavery by another name.

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Sarah Vincent

Sarah G Vincent Views

Mar 22, 2026

If you enjoyed "Sing Sing" (2023) in part because inmates transform into amazing actors, then this documentary proves that inmates make excellent investigative journalists even with the obstacles and lack of resources for production.

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David F

@dfulmer Oct 30, 2026

A sincere, moving, and important documentary about prison life and its horrors.

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Tom F

@RT55173143 Sep 11, 2026

As capable and determined as the inmates are, you know this won’t end well.

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Vixo S

@vixo_six Jun 11, 2026

The Alabama Solution is a raw and necessary documentary about punishment, impunity and the value of lives society is willing to ignore. Its force comes from refusing comfort. The film presents prison violence not as isolated excess, but as the result of a system protected by silence, distance and public indifference. What makes it so difficult is the moral pressure it creates. It does not excuse those who are incarcerated, but it challenges the idea that a sentence should include abuse, neglect or death. The testimony of families gives the film its deepest wound, revealing grief made worse by the absence of answers. The documentary is painful because it exposes not only what happens inside prison walls, but also the ease with which people outside them justify looking away. It asks what justice becomes when punishment is allowed to erase humanity.

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FV

May 31, 2026

Fantastic documentary shining a light on Alabama’s corruption and systemic racism.

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Mike P

@RT09890132 May 10, 2026

Harrowing docudrama set in an Alabama Correctional Institute; one of the most harrowing documentaries of recent years...Some of these atrocities have to be seen to be believed...It makes you seriously question our system of mass incarceration, which definitely needs to be overhauled...

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Garry A

@heavyg May 3, 2026

It is a very sobering experience to watch this. It's awful Seeing the slum conditions these prisoners live in. THE WAY THEY ARE BEATEN AND KILLED IS INHUMANE!!!

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Andrew Jarecki

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Charlotte Kaufman

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Andrew Jarecki

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Charlotte Kaufman

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Charlotte Kaufman

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Synopsis

In 2019, filmmakers visit an Alabama prison to film a revival meeting. Off camera, incarcerated men whisper a message: terrible things are going on here and being kept secret. This sparks an immersive six-year investigation to discover the reality behind the walls of one of the nation's deadliest prison systems. Through unprecedented direct access and video shot on contraband cell phones, the filmmakers learn from the men inside about a suspicious and violent death. The story unfolds in real time, revealing it isn't an isolated incident and that the official version appears far from the truth. What follows is a shocking story of brutality, corruption, and a system in collapse. As the men fight for their own survival, they embark on a campaign of resistance, against all odds.

Director: Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman
Producer: Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman
Screenwriter: Andrew Jarecki, Charlotte Kaufman, Page Marsella
Distributor: HBO Documentary Films
Production Co: HBO Documentary Films, Hit The Ground Running Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Oct 3, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 10, 2025
Runtime: 1h 57m

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