Shawshank redemption directed by Frank Darabont in 1994, is a film about redemption and hope. The film features the main character Andy who is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, while his wife was murdered and he was accused as there were many pieces of evidence which lead to Andy being locked up at Shawshank to serve 2 life sentences. Andy brings life back to the prison and revieves many inmates hope and belief of getting out one day. I found the film Shawshank redemption very interesting as Andy is wrongfully accused of murder and tries to defend himself and states words that the judges use against him to lock him up, this is interesting as it happens in the real world and people can get the death penalty for it. Andy makes prison life interesting by creating new projects to keep everyone busy such as the library books he was donated and then makes a big library to store all them in, named after Brooks. Andy believes in something no one else does as they have lost it, this is hope. Hope drives Andy as he is working on a private project of his own this is digging a hole in the wall to escape will he get out?.

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There is a main theme to the movie this is hope, inmates such as Red have lost hope as they have been locked up for a long time. Ever since Andy has arrived at Shawshank he has shown kindness nobody else would do such as on his first night when Chubby Fat Arse is being beaten and then killed by the guards Andy asks a question to his future group of friends this is “what was his name”, this simple question shows the Andy is kind and caring. Red has given up on hope, as he states “hope is a dangerous thing it can drive a man insane”, Red says this in the prison cafeteria the shot used is an over the shoulder shot using threatening music, this shows that Red is scared of hope and explaining in can be dangious in prison. Most inmates have given up on hoping they will get out one day and now they rely on the Shawn Shank fences to contain them from the outside world, this is shown by Brooks going out on bail and he is so behind in the world he cant understand it and he commits suicide.

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Prisons like Shaw Shank are brutal on inmates as we see in one of the first nights in Shaw Shank the Chubby fat arse is beaten to death for crying and screaming “I want my mother”, later on in the night he is beaten to death. Andy is innocent and he is sentenced for two life sentences while he is truly innocent. The men at Shaw Shank are put through hell and back every day doing hard labour. It’s very obvious Andy wants to get out of prison as he becomes friends with his fellow inmate Red and his squad, the give away is when he asks for the small stone pickaxe and the poster with Rita Hayworth on it. Many prisoners hope to get out on bail one day Andy believes he will get out and on his own steam. Red says “These walls are funny. First, you hate ’em. Then you get used to ’em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized”, this quote is said by Red sitting on the benchs with his gang the shot used is a panning shot that goes to the left and zooms in on Red as he speaks. Red says this as he has been locked up by the Shaw Shank fences for a long length of time and the outside world has become greater and now there are more hazards flowing from day to day, Andy doesn’t understand this yet as he has been locked up for a small amount of time.

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Freedom and redemption is another theme to the film, an example is when Andy and his mates are repainting the roof and he confronting the main guard and risks his life to help him with his taxes, in return he asks for some beer for him and his mates to make them feel freedom and forget about being locked up in Shaw Shank. While all Andys mates drink the beer in a group Andy just sits peacefully and has a smile on his face, this shows Andy didn’t even want any beer and is very caring towards his mates. Andy repeats this as he is in the prison sound system room and he turns on the old school music player and puts the microphone in front of it for all the Shaw Shank prisoners to hear, Red states “I tell you those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream”, This shows that the inmates forgot about everything and felt a sense of freedom while the opera song was playing. Andy again has shown that he cares about everyone else in the prison as they all got to enjoy it he had to stay in the dark room for a whole week and he says it was still worth it. Andy says “get busy living or get busy dying”, the quote is shown by a closeup shot on Andy and Red. This shows that Andy is trying to bring hope to the inmates and keep them busy whilst in prison to kill time faster and hope one day they will get out or at least on bail. A symbol of freedom is when there is a bird’s eye view of a bird flying across the sea with no hozizon this shows that Red and Andy are free and living a colourful life instead of grey and black.

Conclusion

In conclusion, I would recommend this film to any age around year 12 as younger viewers might not understand some of it and it may not also be suitable as well. In the end, Andy escapes from Shaw Shank by a hole in the wall and Red gets parole, they both meet up beside the ocean with an unlimited blue sky and soft yellow sand. Red and Andy are finally free instead of sitting on a roof drinking beer feeling like free men they finally are, no more cages to keep the birds in now they are free.