Hope is not a bad thing, it's something no one can get to, that no one can take from you.
This is not just a story of a prison break, it about hope, freedom, friendship and human spirit.
Some movies just goes past being a movie, they hit differently and leave you in complete emotional hysteria. I had watched this movie a long time ago, if you had GOtv or DStv, you'll know that they showed this movie countless times on TNT and even though I had watched it I would rewatch it over and over again. I recently remembered it and I had to rewatch it again and even after watching it more than twice, a tear or two still roll down my eyes, I still feel the somber aftertaste. I never seem to get over the movie.
This story starts with Andy Dufresne(Tim Robbins) a well mannered banker, accused for the murder of his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two life sentences, to be served in Shawshank prison. He claims he's innocent and I for one had no reason to doubt it. Andy Dufresne is one of my favorite characters in cinema history. There something about him, he is different compared to the rest of the inmates, he moves with a kind of stroll, without a care in the world like he is shielded from the harsh reality of prison. He seems calm and cold, almost inhuman, he doesn't panic, in fact his too calm and takes it as it is. He moved as if he knew everything would be okay in the end.
Andy Dufresne is the epitome of hope, even in a cold grey walls of Shawshank State penitentiary he finds a little light, like restoring the library, helping inmates get their GEDs, playing opera over the PA system.
Prison time is slow time, so you do what you can to keep going, some collected stamps, others build matchstick houses, Andy built a library.
He doesn't confirm, he doesn't let the system define him or break his spirit.
On the inside he meets Ellis Redding "Red" (Morgan Freeman), a man who knows how to get things, he is institutionalized just like Brooks, the old liberian, he's accustom to the walls of Shawshank that it seem safe, he has given up hope on parole and himself. He likes Andy from the start and a friendship bond is formed. Through Andy, Red also starts to believe and also get his redemption. Red (Morgan Freeman) is also the narrator and his narration gives the movie a cinematic feel, it's more than just a voice over, it adds not just only texture but it also brings the movie to life.
The main message of Shawshank Redemption is hope, not the one that is easily swayed but the kind that grows even in the darkest of times, where you have no reason to hope, to believe. It also expose how prison affects one's mind, it breaks the inmates down slowly convincing you that it is safe.
blockquote
These walls are funny, first you hate it, then you get used to it and then you depend on it.
It also shows the hurdles you have to face to get redemption, Andy's escape shows his rebirth and redemption from not only prison but the cage the world put him in, "He crawled through five yards of shit and came out clean on the other side". This shows that Redemption is hard and messy but it is totally worth it.
Although I'll have to say this movie is long, it a two hour plus movie and I don't even watch movies that long no matter how interesting the trailer is but this movie really changed my mind about that. The movie is also slow yet short at the same. What I mean is the storytelling is slow and soft yet so good that I didn't want it to end. So if you like a fast paced movie with action this movie is not for you.
I'll give this a 10/10✨🤌.
Shawshank Redemption is a masterpiece, might be an old movie but it's still valid. If you've watched it, rewatch because it never gets old and if you haven't taken your time don't rush through it and let it sink in.
My final words are, Shawshank Redemption is more than a movie or prison break, it's about having being kind in a cruel world, having friendships that helps, it's about hope the kind that never die even when everything is bleak.
The first image is sourced and the rest are screenshots from the movie.
Thanks for reading ☺️