I saw this recently and thought it was pretty ok, at least the first 2/3. But I was thinking of what kind of message/morals that the filmmakers where trying to get through to the viewers and couldn't really see what they are aiming at.
Anyone who can help me?
If there's a message in the movie, it's in its naturalism: it's a direct and uncompromising portrayal of prison life and its brutal social structure (of which the prison guards are an integral part).
Naturalist art often serves as a social commentary. Seeing the movie in that sense, it tells us that incarceration doesn't really prepare one for rehabilitation nor does it help a convicted felon to see the error of his ways. (And that's putting it mildly, considering the fate of both protagonists, and also considering they were sentenced for only one or two years repectively).
On the other hand, naturalist art emphasizes how life is essentially determined by human nature and social enviroment. From that perspective, you could see the movie as a bleak statement of how free will is an illusion, and how social conditions and human nature dictate our actions, even if we'd want things to be different.
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It's tough to see institutions of this nature assisting prisoners' rehabilitation to mainstream society.🐭
sharethe moral i took from it was "don't go to prison", or at least "don't get caught".
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