MovieChat Forums > Out of Rosenheim (1988) Discussion > Aboriginal Flashback

Aboriginal Flashback

posted 19 years ago by NylonN
8 replies | jump to latest

So what does everyone think were the metaphors and the meaning of the flashback that the german woman has when she first checks into the Bagdad Cafe? (The flashback was her rising naked in a an aboriginal ritual ceremony).

[–] nomoss4-imdb 19 years ago

I lived in Germany a number of years, and believe the film is making a point here about the stereotypes that both the Germans and the Americans had. When Jasmin first saw Brenda, she immediately thought of African cannibals.(Of course she didn't actually believe Brenda was a cannibal, but she did have an apprehension about dealing with African-Americans.)The scene actually shows Jasmin rising from a giant cooking pot.

[–] freefall79 19 years ago

really i thought it symbolised spritual rebirth, and he awakened sexuality

Thunderbirds Aren't Slow

[–] stoffel-3 19 years ago

in the dvd commentary, she explains how she tried to tell the actors the meaning of the scene. iirc, nothing sexually or about rebirth...

[–] andersen-eva 18 years ago

This is exactly what I thought when I saw the scene. I'm Danish, not German, but that cannibal and cooking pot stereotype is well-known here from old comic strips - not that anyone believe it ;) I don't think any 'deeper meaning' was intended with this scene, other than showing Jasmins fears of being in strange place with strange people. Actually it was a bit fun to see a scene that I know so well - an African missionary in a giant cooking pot - acted out. It the most steroetypical of stereotypes.

[–] jcwla 16 years ago

The other interesting aspect is that after she has this flashback, she asks Brenda for the "boss" of the establishment (presumably hoping to deal with someone else). Brenda tells her that she's the boss, at which point she proceeds with paying for the room with "traveler checks."

[–] LPurch6636 14 years ago

Aren't there any Black people in Germany?

Flanagan

[–] 14 years ago

[deleted]

[–] TemporaryOne-1 14 years ago

I thought it was more of a flashsideways and foreshadowing.

I thought she was envisioning what she thought the café could and should be, and the vision was woven together with her personal desire for liberation, liberation from not only her husband, but her own rigidness.

The flashmoment was also a method of illustrating the difference between Jasmine and the others - she had a vivid imagination and stared into the desert with relish and hope, while the others became the desert they stared at until she entered their lives.