Disappointed In This Board
Just watched the movie On Demand and was hoping someone could explain it to me.
shareI got it up until almost the end. It is what happens when you take the thoughts of an affair to its limits and to its end. It pretty much is only good for a short time, and the aftermath is horrific. The only part that I didn't understand is the part where she freaks out about David having an affair with one of the stars of his film. Why is it such a big deal? They did it to Markus, and of course Markus was having his own affair. I guess once you pass through such sin, what is possibly left in life? I guess that is why the daughter disappeared at the end. Innocence just disappears, and we wonder what happened to our youth. Also, there is no such thing as "happily ever after".
Velvet Voice
I don't agree that "sin" is involved. But I do think that Liv Ullman agonizes too much about the theme of infidelity. Sweden is hardly that provincial, especially among its intelligentsia and artists, to which group all three leading characters belong, paying the bills for their beautiful homes with their directing, conducting, and acting. Still, given Ullman's perspective on the story and despite its interminable length, the movie gets better and better as it goes along and its leading actress is simply stunning in her role.
—Posted by KP
"The only part that I didn't understand is the part where she freaks out about David having an affair with one of the stars of his film. Why is it such a big deal?"
Actually this is very realistic. Many people who commit adultery are narcissistic and would flip out if it was done to them even if they were having an affair. Another irony is that they will fully trust the person they're having an affair with even though by nature the person is untrustworthy.