Point of car crash? - The War Zone (1999) Discussion

[–] BlackDisembowelment 16 years ago

*spoilers a bit*

I have thought about this too, and what I came to conclusion to is that the car crash could have caused problems with the baby's defects after birth. The baby is also in the hospital later in the film bleeding, etc. from(atleast I think) the father molesting it, but it can just as easily be blamed on the car crash. I'm not sure though...

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[–] kylesbeaver 16 years ago

That's a good theory and I thought that, too.

Though, I guess we're supposed to draw our own conclusions on if the father molested the baby (I don't think he did, but who knows). It's possible that it was the crash that caused the baby's problems later in the film.

I would certainly say the crash was the thing that grabbed me and initially pulled me into the story. I also thought the crash served a small purpose in wounding/scratching up the family, so we could slowly watch their scars heal over time. I wasn't sure if there was some sort of metaphor I was missing.

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[–] noveltylibrary 15 years ago

I had actually forgotten about the crash by the end! Thinking on it now, I'd say it was a symbol that the family's seemingly quiet existence was now to be bloodied and exposed.

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[–] omniron 15 years ago

I believe it has something to do with the father shouting at the kids to get back in the car, symbolically forcing them into isolation.

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[–] SnakesOnAnAfricanPlain 15 years ago

My interpretation of the crash was that it symbolised the destruction of beauty. We have the childbirth, which should be something amazing, suddenly torn apart by a horrific and unexpected occurrence. Like the relationship between the father and daughter. A fathers love for his daughter should be something beautiful, but here it is something corrupt and unsettling.

"Why would I save a world I no longer have any steak in?"
"Do it for meat."

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[–] candyshapedratpoison 15 years ago

That's an interesting interpretation, didn't think of that!

"When they say the world ends,they wanna sell cereal.When they tell ya not to panic..it's serious."

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[–] amber-wilkinson 15 years ago

It's quite a good metaphor of the family life the baby's about to be born into isn't it.

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[–] sociozen 14 years ago

Methaphor for how their lives are utimately a "wreck." The father's molestation of his daughters will ulimately crashes the emotions,just like he caused the automobile crash, of all of his family...while the wounds heal the scars are deep and indefinitely...just like the totaled car.

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[–] wait_dream 14 years ago

I agree with some of the above posters. The baby is literally born during a car crash, and of course is born into a wrecked family.

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[–] student_points 13 years ago

i thought it was done, to complicate the father's character even more, give it more depth than just 'only' being the villain and sick guy. Nobody is a 100% evil, everybody has a strong and good side to him (yes even hitler). Here he saves the day, saves the babies lives, helps his wife.
It's hard to swallow, because people simply want to put everything neetly into boxes and classify this as good, this as bad, this as... Makes life easier, but unfortunately nothing is ever that clear as a crystal

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[–] persimone 13 years ago

It's been a while since this was posted, but I just watched the movie and just found the thread, so I thought I'd contribute my two cents for the next person that cares.

The car crash does three things. First, it foreshadows the destruction of the family.

Second: it represents the baby as a destructive catalyst. We don't know whether or not the pregnancy had to do with the family having to move from London - maybe they needed more room, cheaper rent. Without the baby Jessie might have escaped, instead of having to make that horrifying pact with her father. The baby's rape brings on the final conflict that tears the family apart.

Third: it's summarizes the baby's tragedy. The child is born in a car crash, to a mother trapped upside down and screaming in a wreck caused by a husband who was yelling over his shoulder while outpacing his headlights. The message: this child is not safe in this man's hands.

I thought the flipped car was symbolic of all the inversions in the film: parent as protector, sex as connection, baby as harbinger of joy.

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