Papillon
1973 · Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner
Original language: English
- crime
- drama
The story
A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.
What it’s like
Harsh, sun-bleached daylight over stone walls and dripping jungle, with the French penal colony rendered in dust, sweat and grimy whitewash. Schaffner's camera holds on wide, flat compositions of work gangs and cell blocks, then tightens into long, patient close-ups of faces working out their next move. The palette leans toward bleached khaki, rust and muddy green, broken by the glare of open sea. Score is sparse and brassy in places, with long stretches of ambient clink, surf and insect noise that make solitary confinement feel close and airless. The pacing is deliberate and stretched, built around waiting, bargaining and small gestures of loyalty between two men who start as adversaries. Its vibe is grinding, stoic and quietly hopeful, the mood of a long prison sentence endured rather than a thriller race. Violence is real but not constant: brief, hard blows, a few brutal punishments, and a handful of harrowing scenes in the isolation cells and on the leper island, with dread more than gore. Suited to a slow weekend watch for people who want a patient, character-driven prison drama about friendship and endurance, not a cosy one.
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