Longing for the Peace

Rating: 9/10 (27 April 2006)

Can you imagine if you should die because no mistake you've done? The Green Mile shows us about that. That was must be faced by John Coffey (Michael Clarke Duncan), the black prisoner, who was judged guilty as the murder of two little girls.
At the first sight, you'll know that John Coffey was not guilty at all. He's innocent, and truly he's a good man. John Coffey, J.C., might be related with Jesus Christ. Stephen King, who was the writer of the novel, that has the same title, The Green Mile, on his memoir, Stephen King on Writing, said that he doesn't want to make a comment about that relation (I read the memoir in Indonesian translation). But, Roger Ebert, the famous movie-reviewer said that the execution of John Coffey, "... reminded of another execution some 2,000 years ago" in Calvary, of course.
The Green Mile, or Death Row is a place for the highly rated criminals. This place is a dungeon before the criminals have their executions. Paul Edgecomb (Tom Hanks) is the man in charge there. Three executions are show in this film: Arlen Bitterbuck, Eduard Delacroix and John Coffey.
Besides three executions, there are three miracles happen in this story. The miracles are doing by John Coffey. It happens to Paul who felt painful injection, Melinda Moores who has an emotional-psychological error, and a nice mouse that belongs to Eduard Delacroix that almost found its death. After the miracles happen, John Coffey always feel tired. He said that he was taken the disease from the sick and then put that in his body. I guess, by these three executions-miracles, the story wants to show us about the connection between justice and mercy.
Personally, this movie speaks so strong to me on two things. First, it's about the sacrifice. John Coffey takes the disease and let himself suffered because of the disease. Second, it's about life after death. John Coffey doesn't afraid of the death because he knows where the place he will go after the death.
John Coffey finally died. He must replace the truly killer of two innocent little girls. Paul wants to release him from the jail but John doesn't need to. He said that he wants to go out of this world because he sick to see evil. He longs for peace... in the other world.