Lovely Rita, Meter Maid

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2019)

Currently this is the top rated movie on IMDb Top 250 -- and has been for many years -- and the reason is that this story can relate to everyone. That's not to say that, like Andy Dufresne, everyone was literally in prison, no, but in a quietly profound way it addresses a fundamental aspect of the human condition that everyone can relate to. Whether it's a housewife who's lived the same day for twenty years, or her workaholic husband who's also lived the same life for twenty years, it seems many people, judging by popularity of the film, consciously or unconsciously see this film as a metaphor for their own lives. Freedom is the issue here. Freedom from monotony, from despair, from death. Freedom to build boats or listen to Mozart or feel the sting of rain on your skin. What Andy Dufresne wanted was what we all want in our quiet moments, perhaps in the evening while we lie in bed, or in the rare instances when we have nothing to do and nothing to distract us. Andy Dufresne is us, magnified. The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie and that's what great movies do: they provide a mirror in which we can see ourselves.