MovieChat Forums > Kárhozat (1988) Discussion > Psychology of / reactions to a scene

Psychology of / reactions to a scene

posted 16 years ago by Opio
1 reply | jump to latest

Many of the discussions of this film focus on its impressive visual construction. There is a tone in the film that holds steady throughout, and once I adjusted, the film made some sense to me.

*** Vague scene description below ***

However, there is one scene that I found quite harrowing and different from the rest; it made the strongest impression on me. It is where the main character (who we learn little about) discusses a former lover with the woman. He describes his lack of love and an ultimate tragedy. He gives enough description and detail to where my emotions where engaged in contrast to the rest of what I would consider primarily an unemotional film. The protagonist himself shows little feeling or remorse while telling his story, and the woman behaves similarly, continuing to munch on some food.

Comparisons to Tarkovsky and Antonioni are of value in the visual style of this film, yet there's a bleakness here that seems to choke out the glimmers of hope in some of the older masters' films. But, I guess there's not much point looking for humanism in a film called "Damnation". Or perhaps, this incident is supposed to deepen our sympathy for the protagonist and help explain his degradation.

Just wondering if this scene made an impression on anyone else and/or curious to hear anyone's thoughts about it.

[–] sunheadbowed 8 years ago

My perception of the scene was that the protagonist was puzzled by his indifference to the pain of his former lover; he felt very little emotion, made her suffer, and stood by waiting as she committed suicide. He didn't despise himself for this inaction, but merely seemed confused by his coldness, and wondered if the new girl could be somehow the beacon of hope that rescues him from his oblivion of indifference and makes him feel once again. The irony is that the girl herself feels little more than indifference to the story, and ultimately, towards him.

If anything, I think his amoral narcissism is intended to repel the viewer rather than inspire sympathy. It makes sense that he could report the new girl to the police without much guilt or heartache, despite initially thinking (or hoping) that he was falling in love, since he was beyond hope, trapped in his internal dungeon of cold indifference all along.