Midnight Express
Midnight Express [1978]
Starring Brad Davis, John Hurt, Irene Miracle
Direction by Alan Parker, Adapted from Billy Hayes' novel, Midnight Express
Language: English
When you hear about a movie about an attempt to escape from prison, you would typically think of some oversensationalised drama, dramatic to the point where the story is devoid of realism. It's a very childish genre when it is fictional: a staple of 'young adult' or preteen film. There has never been a situation until know where I have seen a movie that is so raw, so real. I loved everything about this.
Firstly, it was an interesting choice to have extended scenes in untranslated Turkish; whenever there is a scene in a film where something is not spelled out for you, so are almost forced to revert to a basic, human level of emotion, to empathise with the untapped emotions of fear, of suffering, of longing, of disillusionment. To see everything from a point of view where you are the one feeling this swirl of emotion is a jarring yet exhilarating experience which this movie excels at creating.
This movie is quite philosophical, but it is philosophical in a way that it is pretty easy to understand. What was interesting to see was the downward spiral, where men who were previously sane, those who had a somewhat rational view on life are pushed to the edge in foreign circumstances. It was a thrilling experience to see this decline. The point at which the movie gets really philosophical, however, is in the insane asylum of the prison: where there is almost a sense of order between those who are clinically insane. You would need Freud himself to understand and analyse such a situation from an academic point of view, but seeing it immortalised in film was incredibly poignant.
The portrayal of sexual relationships was also something so minor yet so significant in the movie: the allusion to people having to be in homosexual relationships to get through in Turkish prisons was handled in such a way that there was a profound sense of mystery that served as a backdrop the the movie. There were scenes were there was intense desire, one that was so compelling yet so difficult to watch, which was evocative of the transition from sanity to insanity; from modern man, to a primitive.
The appeal of this movie was really helped by the fact that the acting performances were brilliant. This movie had one of the most intensely great fight scenes I have ever seen - and I chalk that all down to Brad Davis’ skillset.
A perfect Friday night watch, I could not recommend this movie enough.
10/10
