The Shawshank Redemption

One of my all-time favorite movies is The Shawshank Redemption. I love the way the movie sends a strong message about something that's really important-hope. Hope is the central theme of the movie's story. The lead character Andrew Dufresne, played by the brilliant Tim Robbins, is the epitome of the same. He is falsely convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover. He is sentenced to serve a life term at Shawshank Prison and faces the ugly face of reality once inside.

Andrew Dufresne is a qualified banker and runs a few financial errands for the staff of Shawshank that earns him respect and approval in a place and situation fit to drive an innocent man mad. Throughout the movie, the audience is kept on the edge of the sofa by the brilliant narrative of the inimitable Morgan Freeman who plays 'Red'. Halfway through the movie, Andy discovers that there is one man who can prove him innocent. What ensues from this point onwards and the spirit with which Andy faces it, is best left to the movie to narrate.

To me, the message that the movie seeks to convey is profound in its simplicity. Hope is what makes the world go round. We all hope for a better tomorrow. A good life. That's what motivates us. The question is, faced with dire circumstances and difficult times, are we gullible enough to lose this hope. Or are we strong enough in spirit to fight it out to see the light of a better tomorrow? If hope is what we let die inside of us, betrayed by destiny and challenged by fate, then what is it that we live for? Is it order? Or routine( as signified by the drab monotony of prison or parole life) ?

There are, as the movie goes on to say, people.....individuals who are like birds whose feathers are so bright that you know it was a sin to lock them up in the first place. You know it's for the better that they are gone and free, but the place you live in is all the more empty and devoid of life now that they're not around. It's a tribute to the strength and resilience of the human spirit that does not bend or break when put to the test. The Shawshank Redemption is a legend in its own right.