I can't even begin to get into the inspiration this movie gives out. How a little women goes into the prison of Angola and gives prisoners the gift of blues music, this not only touched them but me too. I have a heavy appreciation for blues music but hearing it come from men who could have given up on life changed my feelings about music. Watching people evolve and come together strictly because of the music they share among each other is a rewarding experience. There are plenty behind the scenes documentaries that shed light on prison life. I will say that this particular film is nothing like a regular boring prison documentary in respects that it paints the inmate from another point of view. I never thought getting to know people I've never met would touch me the way these random inmates did. The ending is even more surprising, it set the tone for the whole purpose of the movie.

Music from the Big House begins humbly enough, with a myriad of inmates telling their musical roots. Rita Chiarelli seeks to go back to the roots of the blues, Angola Prison Louisiana. This is where the magic happens. Taking the time to assemble 4 different bands, Rita masterfully guides the inmates learning their past, while teaching her own. Together they make nothing short of a masterpiece. Music from the Big House grants a beautiful look into the hearts and souls of these men. Introducing you to the new souls, the men of hope, looking out of their harrowing homes and into the heavens for salvation. Rita becomes their angel in garb, dealing out guitars, keyboards, and drums; making the blues resonate from the stonewalls of Angola Prison. I loved the simple black and white film, each shadowed grain only intensified emotions of the graveled voices. Chiarelli guides us humbly, granting us with an open-hearted look into the real men and their music.

"Music from the Big House" was a very astonishing look into life in prison and the role music plays. The inmates are all seeking a chance for redemption and appear to be in the middle of a spiritual journey. Music plays a major role for all of these men that is completely indescribable. The music they play or sing is simply raw emotion. It is their outlet or perhaps even an escape from their everyday life. Quite frankly, it means everything to them. Award winning recording artist, Rita Chiarelli, takes a trip to Angola Prison with every intention of putting on a concert for the inmates. She winds up playing alongside the inmates and creates an experience that transcends anything an audience member would expect. This experience is captured in "Music from the Big House," in a tale of music, emotion, and redemption.

This film truly shows the lives of these inmates and how it can be a struggle every day through prison. The characters are introduced evenly and their stories are dread out throughout the documentary evenly a well, it has a nice flow to it. The overall theme of this movie, to me, is the power of music can save anyone. These inmates are either there for life, or have many years lefts in their sentences but what gets them through the day is music. It brings out the best in them and the director helps the audience see their story in the best way possible. With each new inmate that is presented, the camaraderie of the inmates becomes clear, even if they don't associate with each other normally, through the music that Rita Chiarelli offer them to play in a televised concert, through that they can connect together and we can connect with them better as an audience