It’s not about that at all: films that the audience got completely wrong

4 films that hide deep subtext

Often, after getting acquainted with various films, the viewer is left at a loss. Or the film was not understood the way the director originally intended, or the viewer lost the thread of the plot, resulting in a lot of controversy and questions. We will tell you what the meaning was in some films, and perhaps it will be possible to look at them from a different angle.

"Arrival"

Denis Villeneuve’s film begins to confuse the viewer from the very beginning, although the main idea, according to critics, is laid down at the very end. The film is based on the novel by science fiction writer Ted Chan "The Story of Your Life". It cannot be called science fiction in its purest form, the experts called "Arrival" a philosophical parable. The film consists of several closed cycles, and most often the audience thinks that the first frames are the past of the main character Louise Banks, but, in fact, this is her future. According to the plot, Louise masters the language of heptapods (alien creatures), as a result of which time closes for her in a circle. The heroine is constantly faced with events from the future, where her daughter dies and her husband leaves, but even knowing her fate in advance, the woman goes with the flow, surrenders to fate. Therefore, the main point of the film is that everyone can change the future, but not everyone has the courage to do it.

"Tree of Life"

The philosophical picture of Terrence Malick is not suitable for viewing by everyone. The plot of the film has a very deep subtext that few are able to unravel – or only those who have read a number of critical articles. To understand the tape, experts advise watching it several times and trying to build a plot thread. The director himself said in an interview that the main idea is two life paths of a person: hedonistic, in which a person does not deny himself anything, attached to passions, various sins (the hero of Brad Pitt follows it). The second is divine or spiritual, in which a person learns patience, forgiveness, love for one’s neighbor (this path was chosen by the heroine Jessica Chastain). Accordingly, a person chooses his own path.

"Mum!"

Darren Aronofsky created a picture filled with symbolism. Many viewers think that this is a complicated story about people’s lives – but it is not. Javier Bardem plays a poet who is in a creative crisis. He is inspired by the crystal, which actually turns out to be a piece of his girlfriend’s heart. The heroine Jennifer Lawrence looks after the house, keeps it clean and tidy. Over time, strange, inexplicable things begin to happen in the plot. The film begins and ends with one frame, as if the circle is completed. The director said in an interview that Bardem played the role of God, and Lawrence – mother nature, their home is the Earth. The main meaning is that people use nature, treat it carelessly and torment it, as a result, humanity is waiting for the apocalypse, which in the finale is shown in the form of burning the house.

"Vanilla Sky"

Psychological thriller by Cameron Crowe, which at the beginning seems like an ordinary melodrama about love torments. After viewing, the audience is left guessing where the hero’s dream was, and where the reality was. But the director suggested that the truth lies in the last 20 minutes of the film. The hero of Tom Cruise, David, is tormented by terrible nightmares, and the psychologist is trying to figure out where the reality is in the words of a man. David recalls contacting a company that gives clients lucid dreams to keep them alive. Therefore, at the very end, the hero has to make a choice: return to cruel reality or stay in the world of beautiful fantasies. David chooses real life.