Interpreting it all


Someone offered the interpretation that one soldier, the writer, is simply remembering how it was, not how it really was, and that's why the events come across so dreamlike and bizarre. I find this a valid explanation. Others point out that it's an allegory about the futility of the Vietnam War which was raging at the time of release. Another interpretation is that the message is one of contrast: Life from death, and death where once life was.

Actually, the symbolism is obvious:

- The castle represents art or anything celestial created by humanity.
- The countess represents inspiration and the writer denotes imagination.
- War is the ongoing destructive force that destroys everything in its path: The village and the bakery (home and business), the church facility (religion and faith), militarists and civilians, conscientious objectors (that is, those who embrace the folly of ABSOLUTE pacifism, which is different from LIMITED pacifism, as represented by the Allies) and, lastly, art (painting, sculpture, architecture, literature & music).
- The only thing it cannot kill is inspiration and imagination, which will continue to reproduce art despite the ongoing specter of war.

I'm all for "message" films with deeper meanings as long as the film itself is interesting and done with tact; the original "Apocalypse Now" (AN) is a good example. Much of AN is surreal, but you know the characters and care about their fate; plus, surreal or not, AN never departed from reality.

“Castle Keep,” by contrast, contains parts that are SO contrived and unreal they’re actually funny (note, for instance, when Rossi meets the baker’s wife). The greatest sin in filmmaking is to be boring. The second is to be pretentious. Unfortunately "Castle Keep" commits both of these transgressions. But, thankfully, there are several amusing and thrilling moments. As far as the latter goes, the tower/plane sequence is great.

At the end of the day "Castle Keep" is an avant-garde film palatable to a chosen few. It was groundbreaking at the time but was doomed by its arty pretentiousness. I respect it and enjoy numerous aspects noted above, but I suppose it could be viewed as somewhat of a failed experiment.

reply