🚨Spoiler alert🚨
This film really stuck in my head. I find myself missing the feeling of being absorbed in it, so will indulge myself here a bit further.
A brilliant coming of age tale, I loved how each new setting, its unique aesthetic, and a tight plotline concisely described different stages of development across a flowing story arc. It reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut’s story arc lecture with Bella rising, then falling, then rising yet again. Or, if you start from the point of view of her mother / her body, there's one more fall at the start. Yorgos Lanthimos really packed in quite a lot into the 141 minute runtime.
The introduction starts in a grand and eccentric house filled with oddities, shot in black-and-white through varying camera angles, and backed by discordant music. It's unsettling, to say the least, and quite surreal. At first, it seems like the main focus of the film may be the mad scientist/surgeon and his daughter/creation. I found myself drawn into the mystery yet also pushed away by the uncomfortable cinematography. The love between Godwin and Bella was obvious, but creepy as well; later, Ramy makes this uncomfortable dynamic clear by saying to Godwin (I thought you would take Bella as your mistress). This dynamic is made especially off-putting once we've learned that Bella is still developing mentally given her infant brain, a big and unsettling reveal. When Bella finally left London at the end of this act, I felt relieved to have her out of the control of Godwin, even as I was concerned about Duncan's intentions.
Act 2 begins in Paris with tons of sex, exploration, awe, wonder, and ego. It's all about more, more, more. The world that Bella sees around her seems to reflect her own desires rather than being truly reflective of an objective reality (as if that's a real thing) influenced by the sum of all the people involved. This was a fun act, and while I struggled with some of their behaviours, I did like the feeling of awe & wonder brought on by seeing Bella experience things for the first time; even the colours and shapes of the world were like a perfect dream sequence. Her awareness of herself in the world and ability to act on it in a powerful, agentic way reminded me of the transition to stage 2 (Imperial Mind) in the Kegan development stages.
This didn't last long though. Quickly, Duncan reacted to Bella's freedom (and disregard for the impact of her actions on him) by attempting to limit/control her by moving to a ship for the next act. Bella started to see Duncan for who he was, in full, and there was the start of a loss of innocence, and loss of idealization. She began to connect and open up with others around the ship. She started to read voraciously, perhaps seeking the world and its "answers" in a book. She was saying "no" quite a bit more at this stage, perhaps an early toddler realization that this is an option, and looking to her new friends on the boat as teachers who would help her learn about herself and the world.
The start of the next act in Greece was short, but cutting. One of the teachers from the ship, a cynic, obliterated her innocence in a single act by showing her despair and death in the world. And while Bella's reaction to this reality check was to try to help, she still did so in a way that didn't consider her impact on others. Given that she innocently trusted the ship hands to disperse the money she stole to the poor people who needed help, but didn't even attempt to make sure it got to them, it seemed like a rather naïve attempt that was more about consoling herself for the pain she felt from compassion rather than making an impact for those in need. She was still in stage 2, but with a growing awareness of the world outside of herself and her own needs.
Symbolically, the next act in Paris started in the cold, yet Bella stood out in stark contrast with her cheery and ready-for-the-world demeanour. This act started out slow and raw with passage through hedonism, nihilism, and depression. However, it was far from a dark plot as Bella found some semblance of a teacher in the madam of the brothel, learned about herself and others through sex, developed a relationship with another woman, found pride in her shadow, and reconnected with a true self who loved medicine. She was still reading a bit, but also spending time just sitting and thinking; I took this as a transition from books to her own experience as her teacher. I saw her as entering stage 3 (Socialized Mind) here where relationships were of key importance, leading her back to London.
Coming home to London for the final acts, Bella reunited with those in her home, but now as a more developed person. She was able to simultaneously hold love and concern and care for Godwin at the same time as asserting her need to know what her true background was, finally expressing her upset about it while holding care for him too. She was ready to marry, but once Duncan had his revenge and introduced her to her domineering former husband, Bella left at the altar, seemingly with a thought of "I must know who I was before". To me, this seemed to be her last attempt at putting the responsibility for her own life and happiness in the hands of another. But after this went quite badly and absolutely did not fit for who she had become, she transitioned to Stage 4 (Self-Authoring Mind) and took responsibility for her own wellbeing.
Finally, Bella settled into a life of her own, one which mixed all her identities from throughout the film with acceptance that they didn't all fit together, and that was okay. To be fully integrated with all of our past selves while still maintaining our independence in the moment, the paradoxes and irreconcilable relationships of our past must be tolerated all at once. Absurdism as a response to nihilism was depicted through the colourful backyard setting with a lamb-brained ex-husband. Bella had transitioned to Stage 5 (The Interconnected Mind), and while I don't want the absurd life she lived at the end, I found myself aspiring towards her pure individuality at the end despite her very humble beginnings.
Now, it's time to explore TV Tropes and see which come up for the film!
With thanks to: Paul and Carlos for helping me get in a habit of watching good (and weird) film way back when we were in uni together
Written from:
While listening to: my thoughts
This film really stuck in my head. I find myself missing the feeling of being absorbed in it, so will indulge myself here a bit further.
A brilliant coming of age tale, I loved how each new setting, its unique aesthetic, and a tight plotline concisely described different stages of development across a flowing story arc. It reminded me of Kurt Vonnegut’s story arc lecture with Bella rising, then falling, then rising yet again. Or, if you start from the point of view of her mother / her body, there's one more fall at the start. Yorgos Lanthimos really packed in quite a lot into the 141 minute runtime.
The introduction starts in a grand and eccentric house filled with oddities, shot in black-and-white through varying camera angles, and backed by discordant music. It's unsettling, to say the least, and quite surreal. At first, it seems like the main focus of the film may be the mad scientist/surgeon and his daughter/creation. I found myself drawn into the mystery yet also pushed away by the uncomfortable cinematography. The love between Godwin and Bella was obvious, but creepy as well; later, Ramy makes this uncomfortable dynamic clear by saying to Godwin (I thought you would take Bella as your mistress). This dynamic is made especially off-putting once we've learned that Bella is still developing mentally given her infant brain, a big and unsettling reveal. When Bella finally left London at the end of this act, I felt relieved to have her out of the control of Godwin, even as I was concerned about Duncan's intentions.
Act 2 begins in Paris with tons of sex, exploration, awe, wonder, and ego. It's all about more, more, more. The world that Bella sees around her seems to reflect her own desires rather than being truly reflective of an objective reality (as if that's a real thing) influenced by the sum of all the people involved. This was a fun act, and while I struggled with some of their behaviours, I did like the feeling of awe & wonder brought on by seeing Bella experience things for the first time; even the colours and shapes of the world were like a perfect dream sequence. Her awareness of herself in the world and ability to act on it in a powerful, agentic way reminded me of the transition to stage 2 (Imperial Mind) in the Kegan development stages.
This didn't last long though. Quickly, Duncan reacted to Bella's freedom (and disregard for the impact of her actions on him) by attempting to limit/control her by moving to a ship for the next act. Bella started to see Duncan for who he was, in full, and there was the start of a loss of innocence, and loss of idealization. She began to connect and open up with others around the ship. She started to read voraciously, perhaps seeking the world and its "answers" in a book. She was saying "no" quite a bit more at this stage, perhaps an early toddler realization that this is an option, and looking to her new friends on the boat as teachers who would help her learn about herself and the world.
The start of the next act in Greece was short, but cutting. One of the teachers from the ship, a cynic, obliterated her innocence in a single act by showing her despair and death in the world. And while Bella's reaction to this reality check was to try to help, she still did so in a way that didn't consider her impact on others. Given that she innocently trusted the ship hands to disperse the money she stole to the poor people who needed help, but didn't even attempt to make sure it got to them, it seemed like a rather naïve attempt that was more about consoling herself for the pain she felt from compassion rather than making an impact for those in need. She was still in stage 2, but with a growing awareness of the world outside of herself and her own needs.
Symbolically, the next act in Paris started in the cold, yet Bella stood out in stark contrast with her cheery and ready-for-the-world demeanour. This act started out slow and raw with passage through hedonism, nihilism, and depression. However, it was far from a dark plot as Bella found some semblance of a teacher in the madam of the brothel, learned about herself and others through sex, developed a relationship with another woman, found pride in her shadow, and reconnected with a true self who loved medicine. She was still reading a bit, but also spending time just sitting and thinking; I took this as a transition from books to her own experience as her teacher. I saw her as entering stage 3 (Socialized Mind) here where relationships were of key importance, leading her back to London.
Coming home to London for the final acts, Bella reunited with those in her home, but now as a more developed person. She was able to simultaneously hold love and concern and care for Godwin at the same time as asserting her need to know what her true background was, finally expressing her upset about it while holding care for him too. She was ready to marry, but once Duncan had his revenge and introduced her to her domineering former husband, Bella left at the altar, seemingly with a thought of "I must know who I was before". To me, this seemed to be her last attempt at putting the responsibility for her own life and happiness in the hands of another. But after this went quite badly and absolutely did not fit for who she had become, she transitioned to Stage 4 (Self-Authoring Mind) and took responsibility for her own wellbeing.
Finally, Bella settled into a life of her own, one which mixed all her identities from throughout the film with acceptance that they didn't all fit together, and that was okay. To be fully integrated with all of our past selves while still maintaining our independence in the moment, the paradoxes and irreconcilable relationships of our past must be tolerated all at once. Absurdism as a response to nihilism was depicted through the colourful backyard setting with a lamb-brained ex-husband. Bella had transitioned to Stage 5 (The Interconnected Mind), and while I don't want the absurd life she lived at the end, I found myself aspiring towards her pure individuality at the end despite her very humble beginnings.
Now, it's time to explore TV Tropes and see which come up for the film!
With thanks to: Paul and Carlos for helping me get in a habit of watching good (and weird) film way back when we were in uni together
Written from:
While listening to: my thoughts