"Papillon", the film based on a man's memoirs who endured the penal colonies in French Guiana. I don't know how many elements are true or not. Many of the events seem feasible, but the specific actions of the characters don't. That doesn't necessarily make the movie good or bad, but I seek realism in just about everything I watch.The theme of the film from what I got was a man who claims to be innocent relentlessly tries to free himself. He tries to free himself for the entirety of his life. There is a certain ignorance that comes with Steve McQueen's character in doing this most of the time. Where it may be easier or just make more sense to just accept the circumstance for his due period of time than it would be to act in some of the ways he does. I like the idea of a man who claiming innocence, or perhaps unaware of his crimes and being punished for them, and because of his own pride, ends up in far worse situations. In the end, some of these themes become much more visible as the character ages.
The film isn't shot in a way I thought was very interesting. It felt like a story where we were shown what was happening, no matter what was happening, every 5 days of the character's life. He could have been running, sleeping, or dumping. I would have preferred not to have experienced some of the places, or see some of the things I saw, and maybe spend more time on other things. I think a film like this could have easily been made into some cliche prison break film, so I credit the director for not making that happen.
I also didn't prefer the method of character developments. I want to see a character reveal himself, not just hear him narrate himself. There are so many concerns about set authenticity that sometimes it harms the story. Going out of their way to show us plant or animal life just to force us to believe they are all in a real environment.
I think the theme of the film was pretty good, at least the idea of it. As for the execution, I think this film is too aged for me to give it a pass. Some films last, and in their lasting prove their methods to have succeeded, this one did not have the same result.
If you are wondering what kind of actor Steve McQueen is, this film could give you some pleasure. There aren't a tremendous amount of good prison escape films, but "Shawshank Redemption" has the quality in all the areas you want a film to be. This film could be passed on, I don't imagine this being a must-see for anyone.
"Papillon"
6 / 10
