Shawshank Redemption
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/synopsis
Above is a link from the Internet Movie Database that including the plot summary as well as the synopsis of the film.
The Shawshank Redemption, generally, is a movie about an innocent man put in prison for murder. The man is Andy Dufresne.
You sympathize with the main character because he's very human. In terms of perspective, the viewer sees him or herself in the main character because of his vulnerabilities and his genuine nature. And Dufresne reverted to his survival instinct and didn't allow that to crush his human spirit, and actually enhanced the spirit of the others around him. He is likable and makes the best of his situation: he survives, and survives as well as his circumstances allow, even pushing for better (succeeding in the arduous task of bettering the prison library and therefore improving the lives of all of the inmates). His presence in prison as an innocent man also illustrates him as a foil to the other, guilty inmates. While the others are guilty, they are still portrayed as human beings--not black and white portrayals of good and evil but normal people with morals in shades of gray. Whether it is Andy's innocence which allows him to view the others this way, or the tone of the movie itself, is up for individual interpretation.
Spectatorship is involved in the way that through the likability of Andy, the audience is pulled into his place. Additionally, his status as an innocent in the place of a guilty man through no fault or action of his own is one which anyone may find themselves. This is a sympathetic role, one which the audience feels drawn and compelled to put themselves in Andy's place and wonder how they would react in similar circumstances.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0190332/plotsummary
Above is a link from the Internet Movie Database
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is a movie set in Qing Era China. It is mainly about the warrior monk, Li Mu Bai and his sword the Green Destiny. While the plot deviates from these two characters and themes, it is safe to say that the movie as a whole is about love and faith. Yu Shu Lien, the woman who was once married to Li Mu Bai's brother, is also a warrior and is a friend. She and Li Mu Bai are in love but it would be considered improper for them to act on this because Li Mu Bai is a Buddhist monk and technically they might be considered as related to some people because of the marriage between Shu Lien and Li Mu Bai's brother.
Also, there is the side-story of Jiao Long Yu, the princess who is to be married to a man she does not love. She steals the Green Destiny because she is affiliated with a government rebel named Jade Fox who has been her ladies maid and also secretly her teacher in the martial arts since Long Yu was a child. But before this... the plot at this point gets a little twisted with a flashback, but basically she got kidnapped, kicked her kidnappers butts, and then fell in love with one of the brigands. After a while, after running away from her family's attempts to find her, she leaves him and chooses a legitimate life where she no longer has to run.
Eventually, in the present (main storyline), because of Long Yu's theft of the Green Destiny, a policeman from another prefecture is on to Jade Fox's scent, there where Li Mu Bai, Shu Lien, and Long Yu are all convened for Long Yu's upcoming wedding at the house of a local lord. This ends in Jade Fox's detection of being followed by him, and the policeman's death. This exacerbates the situation of everyone else in that Long Yu is not necessarily a bad guy but now has to flee with Jade Fox. Li Mu Bai is somewhat aware of what's going on, and follows them. This culminates in his death.
The movie, in short, is about faith and love. The love between the characters, specifically Li Mu Bai and Shu Lien is unable to be fulfilled basically because of the conflict with Jade Fox and Long Yu. Long Yu's own love, which she is reunited with at the end of the film, is tainted because she is yet again fleeing from her husband (or promised husband), and also that she is basically the cause of the death of Li Mu Bai.
There is a legend in which a man makes a wish for his family, and to make that wish come true he jumps into the falls. The leap is what will make the wish come true. This is what Long Yu does, though the audience is left to speculate as to what her wish actually is after her leap.
Depending upon where you live, different cultures would have a different perspective regarding this film. For example, Eastern audiences who are used to a culture that have arranged marriages generally did not care for this film as it may have been misrepresentation of traditional values and their way of life. Western audiences found it more fascinating due to its mysterious twists that mirrored our own sense of freedom and rebelliousness. Eastern audiences also have a greater respect for the martial arts than the general population of Western audiences where there is a tendency, at least in this film, to simply be entertained. Western audiences also seem to have a need for a happy ending and for love to ultimately prevail. According to Lacan's theory, children develop images of themselves and the ability to master and control their own worlds. From this perspective, the film represents Lacan's contention.
The filmmakers used the concept of spectatorship to their advantage in this film by utilizing elaborate special effects that had never been seen before. For example, the martial artists were fighting scenes in the treetops making the characters appear as if they were floating and jumping elegantly from bamboo shoot to bamboo shoot--poetry in motion. When utilizing this technique, the filmmakers made the movie fun yet fearless and take the audience by complete surprise. In addition, the film has almost an American Western feel with its lone fighters that come together and the constant struggle between the "good guys" and "bad guys." The audience cannot help but feel sympathy for the tormented princess who is destined to marry a man she does not love and roots for her freedom and independence. The film also had a strong sense of culture and allows a foreign audience to look and live in a world completely different from their own.
