We just finished this movie on Friday. I have to say, I was thoroughly blown away by the very last scene of the movie. Just that image -- Manny standing on top of the train, arms outstretched, fading into the distance, toward certain death -- really gave me chills. He's about to die, but he's free. What's interesting is that the positions of Manny and Ranken are reversed; before, Manny was in his cell which was welded shut, while Ranken had the power and the freedom. In the end, it is Ranken who is handcuffed to the spot in the train while Manny exults in his freedom, standing atop the train.
A major theme throughout the film is the idea of 'Man or Beast'. In the very beginning, Ranken says that the inmates are all animals. As the movie progresses, this is referred back to -- in Manny responding to Sarah's accusation of him being an "animal" by saying "Worse -- I'm human."; in Ranken's hunt for Manny and Buck, acting like a hunter on the trail of some wild animal; and when Sarah bites Manny's hand. Biting is something of an animal instinct -- a very primitive method of self-defense or attack. Humans have mostly evolved past the use of biting as anything other than a means of eating, but this action reveals just how close all of us are to animals. Sarah's character is shown as an innocent woman, a figure we would hardly expect shouts of "Kill him! Kill him!" to come from. She is there to truly illustrate the theme of animal vs human in this movie.
Over all, I'm very happy that I saw this movie in this class. Honestly, it's a movie that I would never give a second glance otherwise. The violence and the rawness are features that I generally avoid in a film, yet this movie truly blew me away. I think it may even be among my favorite movies now. I just loved the symbolism and all the hidden meanings hiding just under the surface. And, of course, the final scene. I know, I've been going on and on about it through this whole post, but I can't get over just how breath taking I found it. You don't even need to see what happens to the train -- it honestly doesn't matter at all. All you need is the image of Manny, being truly free at last. Applauding at the end just felt like the natural response to such a stunning ending.
How annoying! I wrote a very long comment and it was deleted accidently. Oh well. I just related how one year a class simply sat in stunned silence for two minutes until the bell rang and then walked out. I interpreted it as a state of speechless awe. I appreciated the applause because it is very upsetting when a class doesn't appreciate something that I feel so strongly about.
ReplyDeleteNice post. I had to laugh at your expression. that film "blows me away" every time I see it. And I've seen it about 30 times.