CONVICTED is not based in realism… our story does not take place during a specific time period nor in a specific place.   It is not even about specific characters with first and last names.  We are in the realm  of abstraction, symbolism, metaphor.   CONVICTED is a dream-like allegory about the spiritual state of mankind— the bleak despair of the unforgiven— and our need for a savior, redemption and grace.

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LIGHT and DARKNESS are critical elements of the visual “style” of the film.  The first thing we hear are the sounds of footsteps walking down concrete stairs, descending into a world of darkness… life as we know it on Earth.   Figures walk down the long dark corridor of this prison.  This is not the brightly-lit prisons of our modern era but a shadowy dungeon of containment… dreary, hopeless, without light... where the guilty await their sentencing.

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Here we meet the prisoner, ERNESTO, a man who has been convicted of an unknown crime and now awaits his punishment.   Ernesto believes he is innocent of the crimes he's been imprisoned for.  He refuses to acknowledge any wrong-doing and does not believe he deserves punishment. He denies his guilt... to his attorney, his wife and even his fellow inmates.    

 

Conversations in the dark prison cells are vague but relatable.  They capture the essence of human emotions and desires.  ANGELO is the voice of goodness and redemption, calling Ernesto into the light by urging him to repent before he dies.  The UNNAMED PRISONER is the voice of the Adversary, speaking what the world has rationalized as a fraudulent truth, trying to convince Ernesto that life is meaningless, that he has no soul... he doesn’t need to feel guilt nor ask for forgiveness.

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All of us born into this world are destined to die someday.  What happens to us when we die is the ultimate Choice— one that all of us must make for ourselves yet also impacts those who love us. 

 

Watch the film to learn what decision ERNESTO makes in the end. 

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