21/8/2024 Movie Night

Tonight was movie night, and I watched a 3-hour film that was absolutely amazing. It's hard to believe it was made in 1999. I’m sure if I had watched it back then, I wouldn’t have understood much and might have found it boring. The movie is rated 18, not because it’s overly violent, but because it has a deep emotional impact. It was a powerful story with a somewhat happy ending, and I almost cried. Although the movie included some supernatural elements, it also highlighted why the guard couldn’t save John from the death sentence, even though he knew John didn't kill people.

There are a few things that stood out to me, especially considering the societal background. There was a character named Percy, another prison guard, who was cruel, cowardly, and lacked empathy. He could have chosen a better-paying administrative job, but he stayed at this prison block, where death row inmates were kept, just to watch people suffer. He revelled in the suffering of others, broke a prisoner's fingers because the prisoner laughed at him. Percy purposely botched an execution by not wetting the sponge placed on the prisoner’s head, causing the man to suffer horribly as he was electrocuted to death. He was so afraid during a prison fight that he couldn’t even draw his rod. Percy was truly a bad person, benefiting from his father’s influence, and everyone despised him. I particularly liked his ending, where John drove him insane, leading to Percy being admitted to a mental hospital—the very place where he was supposed to take an administrative job.

In contrast to Percy, Wild Bill was truly insane and evil. He was the one who killed two young girls and framed John, leading to John’s death sentence. Wild Bill was always causing chaos, taking pleasure in making others suffer, and had no fear of consequences. He was a violent, dangerous man. It’s tragic that the girls’ parents never knew the real killer, even as they watched John’s execution, believing him to be guilty.

Among all the bad characters, I despised Percy the most. Unlike Wild Bill, who was openly violent and mentally unstable, Percy is the kind of person we might encounter in daily life. He abuses his power to harm others and escapes consequences because of his connections—doesn’t that sound familiar?

John, on the other hand, is a large Black man whose appearance causes others to judge him as dangerous. But in reality, he is the gentlest soul, full of compassion for even the smallest creatures. He uses his special powers to save many people, though these powers are somewhat supernatural. I appreciate how the writer intentionally made John’s character so different from his appearance—he is sensitive, kind, and merciful.

The main character, for me, serves as the storyteller and represents us, the audience. He knows the truth but is powerless to change anything. He spends the rest of his life haunted by John’s death, unable to do anything to prevent it.

I loved this movie, and even though it was made so long ago, I can still relate it to my life. In the end, the message is clear: don’t judge people by their appearance, and remember that what you see isn’t always the whole truth. You need to experience and feel things deeply to truly understand a person.