When a previously respectable young man visits Southeast Asia on holiday, he quickly winds up in trouble - and on an extended visit that is certainly no holiday. Director Richard O'Shea takes his viewers on an intimate tour of intense physical discipline and ultimate personal growth, this time within the incarcerating walls of the Lai Tak reformatory. After the traveler hooks up with a local boy, the two run afoul of the law while making quick money running drugs. Once inside, the boys learn how the rattan cane, the paddle, and the bare hand can motivate behavior changes. Fellow inmates share their stories of punishment - and one must also endure the special attention of a smitten warden. Narrated by the errant European, perspective is provided by flashbacks to analogous domestic and institutional treatments back home. Pre-nom Best Specialty Release.

RETAILING: Youthful corporal punishment gem for those with a taste for the Orient.