Very strong drama with also very believable acting, taking place on a prison island, from which no one ever has escaped. The strong discipline, the pecking order between inmates, harsh punishments when violating the rules, the religious beliefs of the governor, it is all there to support the main theme.
The newcomer takes the lead in the story very quickly, thereby guided with fantasies a la Moby Dick (Melville), about a whale that struggles nearly a day in spite of three harpoons. He has not learned to read or write, but finds a fellow inmate to take notes. Throughout the film we return to this theme several times. The way he describes the struggling whale, works like a metaphor and is very compelling.
Near the end I expected a destructive finale like in IF (1968, by Lindsay Anderson), but this time they found something different to wrap up the story, more in line with a Greek tragedy. Very well done. Do not expect a happy ending, as you won't get any. The final music, however, allowed me to leave the theater with a positive feeling, regardless of the foregoing nearly 2 hours without any happy events.
The newcomer takes the lead in the story very quickly, thereby guided with fantasies a la Moby Dick (Melville), about a whale that struggles nearly a day in spite of three harpoons. He has not learned to read or write, but finds a fellow inmate to take notes. Throughout the film we return to this theme several times. The way he describes the struggling whale, works like a metaphor and is very compelling.
Near the end I expected a destructive finale like in IF (1968, by Lindsay Anderson), but this time they found something different to wrap up the story, more in line with a Greek tragedy. Very well done. Do not expect a happy ending, as you won't get any. The final music, however, allowed me to leave the theater with a positive feeling, regardless of the foregoing nearly 2 hours without any happy events.