I just saw it again for maybe the dozenth time. I'm not sure if the wave at the end is real or not, but I figured it didn't quite matter. The visions he's been having throughout the film have been getting to be more and more detailed and the suggestion of "one month" of lead time was made by the conversation with his father about the dreams he'd had before his mother died. Even if the wave is not real (I kinda think it is and he's looking at the actual wave coming in, hence the shadow that's falling on him in the last minutes), it's coming very shortly at that point.
And yes, I as a bit of a thicko and it just didn't occur to me to make the connection that what'd he'd done hadn't prevented it. Though I'm not sure if there was anything he would have been able to do in any case: as m'kuru(sp??), it seemed like his position was more the transmitter of prophecy and as a bellwether of the change and not actually able to prevent it.
Mighty profound for pre-coffee. :)
Yours truly,
John Hedtke
Author/Consultant/Freelance Writer
www.hedtke.com
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gnolti
15 years ago
There may be more than a bit of Don't Look Now in this film. In DLN, the main character is a psychic who doesn't believe in ESP and therefore doesn't know what to make of his visions. In fact, he confuses what he is seeing with something else. So when his time comes, it's too late.
There, daddy, do I get a gold star?
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john-579
15 years ago
Very good point, Gnolti. Yes, I agree with this: Richard Chamberlain's character has been brought up to disbelieve all of this stuff and it was clear he'd completely suppressed all memory of it when it happened with his mother. So even if there was something he might've done--again, I think not from the passing description to m'kuru (sp?) appearing at the end of a cycle--he wasn't prepared to do the right things. His trip through the Underworld and the removal of the mask were only signs that he'd stripped away his previous existence and had arrived at the beach reborn and innocent of his past life. He could now know himself for what he was without anything cluttering his perceptions, but not necessarily that he also knew how to prevent things from happening.
W/r/t DLN: My former g/f was in Venice at one point with a friend of hers and it was night and they were walking along some deserted lane (of which there are MANY in Venice) and the friend leaned over and said "Doesn't this feel like something out of "Don't Look Now?" " My former g/f was ~NOT~ amused by this. :) :) :)
Yours truly,
John Hedtke
Author/Consultant/Freelance Writer
www.hedtke.com
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