This is a film review written during my sophomore year in the "Film and Law" general class. It is one of the few homework I wrote with real feelings. I recently sorted out my computer and posted it as a souvenir.
"168 Hours on Death Row" is a work directed by Tim Robbins in 1995. You may be unfamiliar with Tim Robbins, but you are familiar with Shawshank's Redemption. Tim Robbins is the actor of "Shawshank's Redemption" actor Andy. He did not star in the film, but directed an Oscar for best actress, Susan Sarandon. "168 Hours on Death Row" is not a literal translation. The original name is Dead Man Walking. Some versions have been translated as walking on death row and walking on death row. I don't think it can compare to 168 hours on death row. This was originally a password. When the jailer sent the death row to the execution room, he would shout like this to the effect that "the death row is here!" Walking and strolling are only literal translations of Walking, and they cannot reflect its true meaning. Dead Man Walking emphasizes procedural meaning rather than substantive meaning. After all, who does not know that this shackled person is about to be executed? There are similar passwords in China. The high-pitched phrase "Noon is here!" in the film and television drama is the implicit version of Dead Man Walking. As soon as this statement came out, the county grandfather should throw down the wooden sign for the execution order, and the executioner should raise the heavy guillotine. According to the routine, the protagonist’s savior should also rush to the rescue with the emperor’s amnesty order. People (or the protagonist’s friend gave an order and jumped out of the scene to rob the prisoner in an ambush). But "168 Hours on Death Row" does not have these bridges. During these 168 hours, the plot has not been reversed, the death penalty has not been revoked, and the crime has not been whitewashed. Time is like sand in an hourglass, passing peacefully, never Whoever slows down, never speeds up the flow for whom, the arrival of that moment in the end seemed calm and shocking.
The scene of the execution of the death penalty was not really thrilling, there was no background music that was particularly lamenting, and there were no deafening, loud and profound lines, but even when I watched it for the third time, my eyes were still wet. There are even more tears all over, probably because my tear point is relatively low, and I have always been more susceptible to the scenes of life and death. The meticulously designed death instruments in the movie, the green and blue flowing liquid, the execution bed that bound the death row, the expressionless execution officer, and the large transparent glass windows all made me shudder. These instruments are not as intuitive as guillotines and gallows in terms of senses, and injection torture is far less bloody and cruel than traditional death sentences such as shooting and beheading. First, let the prisoner fall asleep and then let him die without any pain. It is the embodiment of human rights and the progress of civilization. But I always feel that there is a little hypocrisy in this human rights and civilization-essentially depriving people of their lives, and not choosing guillotines and gallows is not so much for the human rights of death inmates, but for the feelings of the execution audience. , After all, what is the point of talking about pain with a dead person? It's better to take care of the people who are still alive and protect them from the bloody scenes. If something unexpected happens, the private power of the United States is so developed, maybe they will be sued for infringement.
Therefore, in my opinion, all death sentences are terrible.
But it is not meaningless, and the death penalty makes people confess more profoundly. This film shows a very important theme-crime and punishment. Sister Helen talked to Matthew Poncelet several times, but she couldn't get a positive response to his crimes. Until the last half hour of his life, he finally began to confess the crime of raping the girl and killing the boy. In fact, for him, this is the beginning of sin from the moment of confession in his heart. The previous police investigations, prosecutors' accusations, and judges' convictions did not shake his heart at all. He didn't think it was his fault at all. He blamed the society, his parents, his associates, his lawyers, and even the victim himself. He didn't blame himself. Under the influence of this kind of psychology, what is the suffering of prison for him? In his letter to Sister Helen, he said that eating and drinking in prison is easy to get fat and makes people slack. He needs to exercise more to maintain muscles, and even joked that the death row was an elite in prison. There is no hint of repentance between words and actions. What is the point of imposing the death penalty on him at this time?
All punishments must be based on sin. Legal crimes and punishments are based on objective evidence. Regardless of whether the three levels or the four elements are met, it is a crime to meet the conditions, and corresponding punishments are imposed in accordance with the law. But from the perspective of this movie, it is not enough for others to recognize sin and punishment. You must confess the sin in your heart and repent sincerely to make the punishment meaningful. This is also the reason why Poncelet’s death is so moving. If he died with the scorn of his first meeting with the nun, and still refuses to face his cowardice and despicability, then the death penalty is worthless, but only one. The equivalent exchange of life for life is nothing more. Death itself is not a punishment. The process of confessing the sin in the heart to waiting for death is the content of the punishment. On the last phone call with my family, half of my beloved jeans were cut off, and I was forced to change out the boots I wanted to wear. They were tied to the execution bed in large fonts, all suffering pain. Especially when lying on the execution bed and waiting for the liquid medicine to take effect, the short and long period of time, like the abyss, the huge unknown is swept across the chest, the nose, and the top of the head, making people suffocate. At this time, Matthew Poncelet once again recalled the tragedy that happened in the woods that night, killing two lives for no reason, ruining two families for no reason, this crime is unforgivable in the world, and only God can directly look at it. He sincerely seeks forgiveness, his eyes no longer resent, what he sees is a face of love, and he says to the nun, I love you.
May I ask, what punishment is more cruel than realizing the true meaning of love before dying?
In the end, the justice in people's mouth came as expected. It came to the room separated from the outside by the glass window, climbed onto the black execution bed, and flowed into Matthew Poncelet's body along the infusion tube.
The punishment is finally over.
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