Ahh. I doubt another movie could leave me as awestruck as The Shawshank Redemption.

When pain is so deep, and there is no way out, human beings can find a breakthrough through the power of intelligence. On one side is sheer brutality with which prisoners are treated at Shawshank, and on the other is one man’s creativity in beating all odds to defy it. Andy plays a game no one else could — a maneuvering that isn’t simply about mathematical prowess but is an outgrowth of a good heart. This work of fiction gives me hope that I, too, can create something intelligent for the world to escape its suffering.

My heart plunged into absolute silence at several events — the officer murdering a prisoner simply because he was crying, the rapist gang assaulting Andy persistently, Norton the prison warden firing bullets at Tommy because he was willing to testify to Andy’s defence. Somewhere we know that this ruthless crime exists out there in reality too; fiction is a mirror of life. I am one of the many sensitive souls whose eyes feel dewy and whose body feels frozen by the mere thought of such brutal events.

My heart took a leap to the moon seeing Andy’s perseverance — for several years he wrote letters to the state to get funds for the prison library, for twenty years he dug a tunnel in the prison with a small rock hammer, for five hundred yards he crawled through the sewage pipe. This is a man fighting for himself because he knows he deserves better and he ought to. He quotes magnificent wisdom, “Get busy living, or get busy dying,” which becomes the heart of the movie’s theme of purpose.

Andy cares about others — helping potential prisoners to get high school diplomas, naming the library after the late librarian Brooks who dies tragically from suicide, and exposing the truth of the prison corruption and murders after he escapes. He is not simply a man who has sought justice for himself, but for everyone his paths crossed with.

Andy reflects on his personal life realising he drove his wife away with his emotional aloofness before she chose another partner. He wonders if he contributed to the circumstances that preceded her murder but stands corrected by Red who identifies it as false guilt. He recognises he does not deserve that sheer, prolonged darkness he is being put in by fate for that shortcoming. Andy is a man who is introspecting deeply in order to evolve and motivate himself for liberation.

Andy’s joy on discovering about Blatch, the real murderer who confessed to Tommy about his act, is a tender moment. Andy’s glowing eyes truly expressed that he hoped the warden would give him a chance to plead his case. The cruelty he is met with is heartbreaking — the warden wants to use Andy for his money laundering so desperately, he can’t entertain the idea of him having a life he aspires for and is deserving of.  It is only the most befitting sarcasm that Andy leaves the Bible as his parting gift to the warden, with a line on it, the same line the latter had hypocritically boasted of, “Salvation lies within.”

It is shattering to see a smiling good-natured man like Brooks choosing to live no more because he no longer fits in a normal world. He is accustomed to fear and its absence feels unreal to him. This is an exceptionally strong argument being conveyed about the impact of long-term imprisonment — do they really “rehabilitate” prisoners or do they leave them with even heavier crutches to carry?

The movie offers relief through a contrasting suicide — that of warden Norton, when the police arrive to arrest him. Brooks can’t adjust to a world without prison walls. Norton can’t imagine a world within them. He gives up before confronting torture that life in the prison would bring him. The event feels healing to aching hearts. There is a sense of poetic justice in what goes around comes around — evil, too, has its dying days marked.

Andy may seem like the best crook when he creates the fictional identity of Randall Stephens but the ends he is aiming for dignifies the means in this context. He isn’t being fraudulent to serve the corrupt, but to serve the good — himself and his inmates. This feels like sunshine to despairing hearts witnessing this dark tale.

Red is a man who radiates warmth and humility; he is someone immediately liked by all and sundry. Andy’s friendship with Red is delightful. Red is not just the man who is Andy’s go-to for a hammer or a Rita Hayworth poster but someone who is a genuinely caring brother. Andy is aware of the possible impact of institutionalisation on him and offers him the opportunity of working with him post release from prison. Their embracing reunion closes the curtains on a heartwarming note.