A hymn to hope

Rating: 10/10 (19 August 2015)

This film tells the story of a banker who is arrested for a crime he did't commit and sent to a prison where he tries to adapt, despite the hardness of the day-to-day life. Based on a Stephen Kink's novel and directed by Frank Darabont, has an excellent cast headed by Tim Robbins, who plays the banker, and Morgan Freeman, who gives life to an inmate, particularly skilled in the art of smuggling goods inside the prison.
Darabont deserves congratulations for the way he directed the film and wrote the screenplay. Thanks to him, this film is human and sentimental without exaggeration. Tim Robbins shone in its interpretation of banker Andrew Dufresne, a man shaken by the sudden collapse of his way of life, but that doesn't cease to dream with freedom and to help those who share his misfortune, even in the worst moments. Thanks to Robbins, Andrew Dufresne isn't a mere banker betrayed by fate, but a deeply generous and human person. Far from spending time lamenting his injustice or his downfall, this Dufresne is more concerned to adapt to his new situation and provide to his cell mates the means to "trick the bad luck" and maintain their hope, that same hope that he, himself, always tries to maintain. Another actor that deserves particular attention is Morgan Freeman, who incorporates "Red" Redding, a longtime inmate, admittedly guilty, that recounts the events in the first person. Bob Gunton gives body to the prison director who, with the Bible in his hand, will not hesitate to do all the things the Bible disapproves. However, despite the deserved highlights, it must be said that the entire cast of the film deserves congratulations and reached excellence. The technical aspects of the film are equally blameless, with photography and soundtrack to deserve particular attention and to strengthen the human side of this story where, despite the windows have bars, there is always a sun cross for them.
It's not by chance or by grace that this film is considered by many one of the best films ever. In fact, it won this award by right, among other distinctions achieved (seven nominations for the Oscar, two Golden Globe nominations etc...). Acclaimed by the critics, it was a relative commercial failure, which only prove to us that what is done to sell rarely is good enough to stay for posterity. And this movie stays here for the future generations. It's a hymn to hope, and to all human values ​​that we, so often, forget.