True friendship

Rating: Null/10 (7 November 2003)

People say that Shawshank is a fairy tale, or that it doesn't represent real prison life. I say, fine, ok, you're right -- but that doesn't stop me from finding it one of the most beautiful films I have seen. I've watched lots of movies, old and new. None have left me feeling as breathless and vaguely intoxicated as Shawshank. Not a one. Casablanca, Citizen Kane, Rashamon, etc... great movies all, without doubt. But Shawshank still sits on top of my canon. Call me shallow. Call me unsophisticated and easily manipulated by saccharine cinematic swill. Whatever. That's the last thing on my mind when I watch the camera pull back as Red and Andy embrace on that beach in Mexico. I'm thinking about the power and redemptive value of a true friendship. And Shawshank is, in this reviewer's opinion, the single most evocative and powerful portrayal of that sort of friendship ever committed to celluloid. I dare you to watch it without a tear in your eye.