Perfect in every sense...

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2000)

Every so often, I feel cinematic achievement reaches a new zenith...a point where I feel (albeit erroneously) that the bar of accomplishment can rise no more. Yet, as said, I am eventually mistaken, mainly due to remarkable stories of profound creative intensity. These are the creations that highlight vital essences of life and society.
The Shawshank Redemption is truly an element of such a category.
The Stephen King novella, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, is a relatively brief tale, a section of a larger book called 4 Seasons. Still, it is brilliantly adapted as a feature-length motion picture, with no flaws or injustices therein.
If you are wondering why it is such a good movie, then you only need to think about one word: freedom. Think about what it means, and how easy may be to take for granted in today's liberated world. Set in the hardened American past, The Shawshank Redemption teaches us a valuable lesson about the fickle nature of sovereignty, and the inevitable boundaries that restrict us along the path of life. Still, despite the misery of indeterminate and forceful detainment, a love of life is found.
As such, this film presents a quest like no other. The characters seek to transcend their enslavement in a vile microcosm of dubious honesty and ill will, cherishing the subtle scents of freedom that waft through the senses on a very limited basis. After seeing this film, you'll never look at a bottle of beer or an opera record the same way: when you have nothing else, such frivolities are your only ties to freedom. Still, the intelligent social analysis does not end at this basic level. Rather, it continues by showing the affects of being reintroduced to reality, and the ensuing overdose of true liberty...
Nevertheless, as clear-cut as the overall theme may seem, a mark of cunning snakes through it...fervent...unexpected...
The result will knock you out of your seat. See for yourself. 10/10