tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post8572071654065049778..comments2024-03-28T15:01:12.582+00:00Comments on The little white attic : The Exterminating Angel- notes, questions... Hai Di Nguyenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post-6157427130268015242017-09-17T21:48:03.634+01:002017-09-17T21:48:03.634+01:00Interesting. I have a wee confession to make here:...Interesting. I have a wee confession to make here: I've never really cared that much for "The Lord of the Rings". No doubt this is unfair of me, but it seems to me no more than the dramatisation of an idea - that idea being that humans are essentially evil and savage, and that once the veneer of civilisation is stripped, savagery all too easily appears. Now, that may or may not be true - I don't pretend to know -,but I can't really see in the novel much more than an illustration of that thesis. It is a novel with a message, and, quite frankly, I don't find the message that remarkable.<br /><br />While I can understand why that same message can be perceived in The Exterminating Angel, I don't think the effectiveness of the film depends upon the message. Its greatness - for I do feel it's a great film - depends not so much on what it says, but, rather, on what it *is*. I try not to *interpret* what I see, for the very point of surrealism is that it defies analysis - that it defies rational explanation, or, indeed, anything that smacks of rationality. So it is not, for me at any rate, something to be judged in terms of whatever message we may find in it. Rather, I find myself simply relishing the absurdity for its own sake. For our lives *are* absurd. We may apply some structure to it, so it conforms to our reason; but as soon as that structure breaks down, so does reason, and all we are left with is an utter absurdity. And we can't escape from it: we are caught in this endless repetitive cycle of utter unreason, that refuses to satisfy us by conforming to whatever rational schema we may try to impose upon it.<br /><br />Buñuel depicts all this with a suprprising charm and elegance that are strikingly at odds with the utter chaos and absurdity of the content. In The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, he took this a step further, emphasising the unruffled charm and elegance of his characters in the face of even the grossest absurdity. While Bergman found in this chaotic and unreasonable life of ours spiritual pain, and also spiritual exaltation, Buñuel finds a chaotic and ridiculous mess that defies our best attempts at understanding. But nonetheless, he is charmed by the civilised elegance with which we approach it all. Even when that elegance breaks down in the face of extreme pressure.<br /><br />That, at least, is how I see it. I don't think I quite share Buñuel's cynicism, but I love his films all the same!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post-61858963980044347932017-09-17T17:05:20.760+01:002017-09-17T17:05:20.760+01:00Di--forgot to mention the repetitions. I really d...Di--forgot to mention the repetitions. I really didn't focus on watching for them, so I missed most of them, I guess. I did pick up on the most obvious ones early in the film, only four or five of the ones you mentioned.Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post-59709716174823170052017-09-17T16:53:46.938+01:002017-09-17T16:53:46.938+01:00Di--just viewed The Exterminating Angel. I agree-...Di--just viewed The Exterminating Angel. I agree--it is absurdist. If I were cynical, I would suggest that the producer/director/etc deliberately fabricated this film simply to make a name for themselves. <br /><br />Overall, it's an adult version of The Lord of the Flies. If there is a hidden, deeper, secret message here (other than people behave badly under prolonged stress), it escapes me. <br /><br /><br />The last scene, the attack on the people, was equally mystifying. Was it the police? the military? a coup?Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post-1273200386244946782017-09-01T23:04:10.969+01:002017-09-01T23:04:10.969+01:00Di--OK, will do (if I remember)Di--OK, will do (if I remember)Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post-31210391591044499042017-09-01T22:19:21.194+01:002017-09-01T22:19:21.194+01:00I'm glad to hear that. Tell me what you think ...I'm glad to hear that. Tell me what you think about it. Hai Di Nguyenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02230670162621139739noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3901980733463068698.post-50824309844658926642017-09-01T16:59:20.860+01:002017-09-01T16:59:20.860+01:00Di,
You got me interested. I found the film on Ne...Di,<br /><br />You got me interested. I found the film on Netflix. Fredhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10233846613173866140noreply@blogger.com