MovieChat Forums > Utvandrarna (1971) Discussion > Drowning the Cat!

Drowning the Cat!

posted 16 years ago by alan4artg
16 replies | jump to latest

I'm not trying to change history or rewrite the film...But c'mon! Did they really have to throw the cat in a burlap sack and then throw the bag in a cold river? Just because they were headed to America. They easily could have left it in the forest a couple of miles away from the house. Or dropped it off somewhere in town. Either way, the cat could at least had a chance to survive. I know this is really petty to a lot of people out there, but hey....I had to get this out of my system. And for you cat-haters out there...just imagine them throwing a dog in the river tied in a burlap sack!....it would be just as stupid and mindless as the cat...at least for me.

[–] misse1977 16 years ago

I didn´t like the catdrowning either, but they didn´t do it because they headed to America, they did it because it was too old. Not defending it at all, but that was their reason.

[–] itse007 16 years ago

Drowning a cat is at least a lot more merciful than leaving it to forest, where it would either starve or freeze to death, slowly. They did not have vets to do the job for them.

[–] info-2514 15 years ago

Indeed so. They had to drown the cat because it was the humane thing to do. A domesticated animal cannot survive in the wild. The original poster shows ignorance, of history certainly, but also of our own times as itse007 points out.

[–] lesmoore37013 9 years ago

Ignorance of history? That comment is unnecessary - farm cats are not domesticated.

[–] beefus-1 14 years ago

Cats and dogs in those days were not pets..They had use around the farm..Cats kept down the population of small animals,like rats and mice. When they were no longer useful, they were disposed of like a lame horse.

[–] tonstant viewer 14 years ago

Obviously the incident is included to reveal something to us about Robert's character. Karl Olaf is the farmer, happy in his work and just trying to succeed. Robert is more sensitive, a dreamer, whose discontent will drive him further into much riskier enterprises.

There is a thread connecting Robert with water, first the cat, then his clothes, and eventually to sea. And the blow to his ear leads to the sound of rushing water in his head. So it all ties together in an intuitive, rather than a logical, way.

[–] Ting_13 14 years ago

The incident with the cat is described in more detail in the book. Robert forgot to put a rock or something else in the bag to weigh it down and drown the cat. When he realised his mistake, and that the cat was being tortured, it terrified him. Later on when they're on the boat he remembers what he did to the cat and feels like the sea sickness and lack of air is his just punishment.

[–] anaekasm 9 years ago

This was a long time ago but no one replied to you so I wanted to thank you fot commenting with that insight

[–] Consul_Incitatus 12 years ago

If I recall, the cat was sick and dying. I remember the old dad examining it and saying there was no hope for it to get better, then the next scene the cat is being drowned. The idea was to put the cat out of its misery, but he forgot to weigh down the sack, so it just floated away with the cat struggling inside.

[–] 12 years ago

[deleted]

[–] Buff70 11 years ago

Alan, thanks for bringing this up, as I missed some of the beginning , and the cat scene as well ... one thing I noticed Robert taking off his clogs and shirt and throwing them in the river with the cat ?

What was that all about (the clogs and shirt removed and thrown in water?)...

[–] djemptyx 9 years ago

You posted that question some time ago, but I will try to explain what I think this scene meant. I think every single scene like this has important meaning. You will remember how enamored Robert was with his books of knowledge? He was very impressed by theories and ideas he learned from those books. Well, he was fascinated by the science of buoyancy of various objects in water, so when he awoke and noticed the wooden clog had floated a bit downstream, his curiosity got the better of him and so he started testinng the other articles of clothing to see how well they would float compared to the clog. Recall the excitement in his face after testing each piece of clothing. You might remember later in the film on the journey to America that he describes to Arvid how the water pushes and lifts the boat as the ocean water rises. He was also keen to teach English to the girl (I don't recall her name!). Robert was young curious...full of wonder and spirit. It was no surprise that he had such a nagging inside to go on adventures in a land far far away.

[–] djemptyx 9 years ago

Also, this was one of the many important parts in the film which were used to communicate what life might have been like in those earlier times. There were many difficult decisions which had to be made, esp. because of a general lack of modern medicine in smalll farm villages. It was the same with the killing of the cow in the film after this one (Nybyggarna). That had to happen to save a human life, but it was a bit difficult for the viewer to stomach. These are some of the intriguing ways Moberg and Troell wished to get that hard or raw early life across to modern-day viewers. Life was not easy. If modern-day individual would be suddenly transported to such a time and faced with the same situations we might just go insane...perhaps ;) Btw, I have and love my 5 cats on a Swedish farm (in Småland!). No cat-hater here either. This series is important and a vital historical document even!

[–] Buff70 9 years ago

djemptyx -- Thank you so much! I love your analysis , so true. I came to North America at the age of 12, I know all too well about hardship and resilience.

I have to watch this movie again .. I love Ingmar Bergman movies. I have seen most of them.

[–] newguyindc2001 7 years ago

This isn't an Ingmar Bergman film. It's a Jan Troell films. LMAO!

[–] gizmomogwai 8 years ago

Now that's what I call a wet pussy.