I found this movie to be a stunning journey into the life of the wrongly convicted. The main characters portrayal of the emotions of someone who has done nothing wrong and must suffer the short end of a corrupt system is breathtaking. I find it amazing that this movie comes from the era that it did. It was very socially critical, aware and sought to bring to the publics attention the very things which they were trying to ignore. The camera work in this movie alone makes it worth watching. The camera adds a very cool effect in the action scenes (i.e. the car chase at the end) and a very somber effect in the scene of hopelessness. I found the use of silence in this film to be quite amazing as well. The scene where the main character is getting whipped and the music drops out and all you can hear is the sound of the whip striking and the painful breaths of the wrongly accused adds a stunning effect and truly heightens the feeling of cruelty and hopelessness that the audience feels. The plot of the movie was very well done and takes you on an incredible journey from hope, to despair, from rags to riches and back again. I find it very interesting that the characters motivation to be truly great and not just settle back into the normalcy of his life before he fought in the war was what, by an unfortunate turn of events led him to the very bottom of the social ladder. I find that this is a very accurate representation of how in American life, even to this day, trying to be more than people expect of you and break away from the norm to forge your own path is looked down upon and often punished despite the 'American Dream' of individuality and independence. The scene that I found the most moving in this film was the very last scene where the main characters fades into the darkness and all you can hear is him exclaiming 'I steal.' The irony that an honest man who up until then had never committed a dishonest act and was driven by the very system which was supposed to correct improper behavior to committing crimes in order to survive was truly emotionally cutting. I think that this film, besides being an amazing tale of woe and fortune was very important in its time for exposing the corruption of the chain gang system.
Review of I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
