Prison Life in the 40's and 50's was a story of survival.

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2006)

Shawshank Redemption is one of the most insightful and thought provoking movies I have seen. With the character "Red's" narration, it comes across a little like a documentary because of the details of prison life presented. But we are being told a story in such a way as to keep us interested enough to hear the outcome.
I view the character, Andy (at least later in the movie) as an undetected mouse in a board meeting or fly on the wall who observes more than the average person. Red describes him as wearing some kind of cloak that shields him from the effects of the prison. This is revealed as hope later on. Andy somehow refuses to allow his hope to be crushed or snuffed out.
He accomplishes so much during his incarceration, much of it due to his undaunted perseverance and redirected energy. It is brilliant and insanely brave when he asks the guard if he trusts his wife. Pushed to the brink of destruction, he barely gets the words out to the effect that the guard can keep all of the inheritance if he gifts it to his wife.
The story reminds me of the Biblical Joseph in an Egyptian prison, a documented instance of undeserved confinement.
The spoiler that I have for those already initiated is: Andy places his own copy of the Bible in the warden's safe the evening of his planned escape. The warden is mocked when he reads his own quote to Andy inside the cover and the hollow for the pick-ax is revealed. I wonder if Andy's routine included locking up the warden's Bible, or was this a one time sting for the warden's sake?