Movie Review: To Kill A Mockingbird (TKAM)

Have you read the novel - To Kill a Mockingbird? If you haven't, go and grab one NOW, RIGHT NOW. It's a very nice story. It talks about racial segregation, how it was back in 1930's where there was a big-thick-yet-invisible wall between the blacks and whites. If you are not really into reading, then watch the movie. This movie I am talking about is based on the novel which is written by Harper Lee. She wrote this book in 1960s. She was born in 1926 in Monroeville, Alabama and has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, two honorary degrees and various other literary and library awards. The book she wrote, To Kill a Mockingbird, has won Pulitzer Prize and has been sold over 30,000,000 copies!!

In this movie, there are few changes has been made. I think it might be hard for them to follow the real exact to what has written in the book. The director of the movie also might want to put some extra ideas rather than sticking to the original idea of the book. I believe so because I directed a play, Macbeth -- well, a play is almost the same with a drama -- and I did change some of the ideas in Macbeth simply because I'd prefer to have more creative ideas rather than following meticulously what's in the book, of course without changing any important part, and some of the things in Macbeth just need to be changed because it's just hard to act some scenes out. Anyway, the theme must stays the same. So does the movie, TKAM. It's not exactly the same but the idea is there - how strong the wall is built between the blacks and whites long before today.

It is a great movie. I almost let one of my tears rolls down my pinkish cheek (oops.. ^^). It is sad especially when Tom Robinson is charged guilty of raping Mayella just because he is black -- when everyone in the town knows that he is not guilty, knows that Mayella is just making up stories, knows that he is incapable of doing so, but still they have to put him in jail simply because he is BLACK. He has a family to take care of, but still they put him in jail. He is already so poor, still it didn't change their verdict. He then decides to run away when they are on their way to put him in jail, and they shot him dead. Sad, don't you think?

Why is the title 'To Kill a Mockingbird'? That's what we call as symbolism. It's a literature term to use a word, a phrase or a description, which represents a deeper meaning than the word itself. In this movie, Atticus Finch, a single father of two children, Jem and Scout, told his children to never kill a mockingbird. He said that it is a sin. Why? Because they didn't do anything that harm us. All they did is sing for us, made beautiful melodies for us. If you watch the movie -- or even better, to read the novel -- you will know that the mockingbird is a symbolism for the blacks, or to be specific, Tom Robinson. He did nothing but helped Mayella in any way possible. He is trying to be helpful but the society never wants to treat him nicely.

The movie teaches a lot about life. Just by watching it, I learn a lot about life compare to my own 19 years of experience. It teaches me about how unfair life can be -- yet you can still fight for it, and should never ever give up like Tom Robinson does. It teaches me how one decision can change one's whole life -- yet we have to be brave to make our own decision like when Atticus decides to fight for Tom Robinson. He knows that everyone in the town is disagree of his decision to stand up for Tom, but still he does it. See, it changes my opinion of life by just watching it for two hours. Worth my time. If you want the novel or the movie, you can always ask me. ^^