8/10 A deep movie, not far away from being a true masterpiece.

8/10 An allegoric scream for clarity, lost in chaos(?).

Lost in the inner struggle but aware of the importance of the now. This movie basically drowns it's message in all the references it makes and implied such.

This is a classic styled movie in the manner that it is straight forward and stripped of unneeded props. It is as if you drag out the subplot in a movie and have that and the meaning of it left in the movie. It's a slowpaced piece that requires attention. It is therefor recommended to be viewed alone or with someone who can be "silent".
The cinematographical style is in line with movies such as Dogville (2003), it's scaled back and it is no doubt the right choice here as clutter would do injustice to the dialogue and the focus on that. It means that the level of skill required to produce props, lighting, sound and costume for this shouldn't necessarily be high, the problem with that is that (the choices has seemingly been made very carefully) you don't hit as dead on if you do not understand what your line of work entails (or if you have a capable director who keeps everything under his/her eye) in regards to the telling of the story.
The movie contains a range of references, some teological which are not within my area of expertise, but overall the focus lies in analogies related to daily life. I will go further into it at the end with a spoilerwarning.

If you like movies as;
Mood Indigo (2013) - without the cinematographical surrealism, Waking Life (2001), Relite (2014) (deconstructivism and myriad of references made), Dogville (2003) (theatrical style) and lastly but not least The eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (2004) (message) this is a movie you most likely will enjoy.

Pro's
Directing
Acting
Choice of stage

Con's
Message (not well presented)
Script, draws from too many sources (or rather, different areas) ends up partly hiding the message instead of making it clear (and no the "beauty does not lie in the eye of the beholder here").


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SPOILERS BELOW - WILL IMPACT VIEWING PLEASURE
[NOTE: This is not cleanly written and is best read right after viewing the movie to get contextual rigidity]


The reality of the story;
The movie takes place in the mind. (around) 1.06 "There you are again, there we are again, there i am again. -You feel worse when I'm with you."

The characters of the story;
Regarding the characternames ("a loved child has many names"):
• Main lead: Albert, Vladimir and didi
• His Friend "gogo" (which is mentioned amongst others at around 5min, 1:06, 1:25)
• The owner of the slave - Potso (around 16min) Abel and Kane (kain) (around 1:34) - 1:32 the weight of potso pulls them down and makes them go to sleep. At around 40min Potso - "...you see my memory is defective."
• The slave / The person with white hair - Misery (around 42min and 43:30, noteworthy is that he thinks he's entangled in a net), pogot, (also called Lucky around 1:14:30, 1:22:20, 1:37:55)

*Noteworthy: Its mentioned that Misery taught Potso everything of the mind around 32-32,5min in.

*Noteworthy: You could also speculate that you can only use parts of three character names to create the name when added together at most, godot - gogo, didi, pogot (which would mean there are three key areas to living happily - by the writer/director).

The point of the story?
Waiting for godot - waiting for purpose. - Around 1:35, when they have it - they act (helping potso) around 1:36:55 - boiled down - it's purpose he waits for (atleast so it is implied).
Inner salvation can be found through misery (godot has a white beard) because it's there you find purpose (action without purpose means nothing purpose without action does nothing).

Around 39 min "So long as one knows. One can bide ones time. One knows what to exspect. No further need to worry. Simply wait. We are used to it."

From 12:00-12:30min comes the reasoning about what godot needs to ask to make a decision - consult his:"...family, friends, agents, his corrspondance, books, bankaccount before he makes a decision - its the norm id say [gogo], [Albert] - i'd say." Which definitively supports the previous asumption that it takes place in the mind.


*"If godot comes we'll be saved (1:50-1:51). Shall we go? Yes, let's go." Whereupon they stand still.

Every person is his own god (45min) and owe it to him/herself to figure out the rationales of life.
Every person should be awake, not waste time of life on habits or ponder death but feel happy to be alive.

What does he do godot, he does nothing sir (1:46:30).
Does he have a beard, mr godot, - has a white beard (could imply his "friend" - as he has a partly white beard, then the inner conversation - reasoning is the saviour from the abyss).


For what I can see it also entails an analogy with duplicity within it (which lacks sinister motives) for religious to reason for themselves through the movie, the following quote illustrates the movie and the duality that can be found;
"That with ester gone my friend I waited for godot? That potso passed with his carrier and spoke to us, probably. But in all that what truth will there be (?). he'll know nothing, he'll tell me about the blows he received and I'll give him a carrot. A stride of a grave and a difficult birth, down in the hole lingerlingly the gravedigger puts on his forceps, we have time to grow old, the air is full of our cries. But habit, is a great debtener... at me too someone is looking, of me too someone is saying he is sleeping he knows nothing, let him sleep on. I can't go on, what have i said?"
Another one of those momements can be found after potso falls and gogo reasons regarding calling him under different names.
The former a clear references to jesus and the latter to "god is called by many names", so if you are religious you will no doubt be able to possibly draw a different meaning even though I think this is made to be an "all roades lead to rome" item of work (make many smaller roads one bigger).

Where do we see them? In the twilight zone, once the lead fall asleep we canno't follow them. What gives the the story context is the doubt about it being a dream around 1:43, where it is clear they are asleep and we see a representation of the mind (the tree of life being a willow is also indicative of that).
The landscape of unturned rocks are an analogy for life and possibilities.
The twilight zone is to make it clear we are not in reality anymore.
The endless road is life, at it's core a tree that comes alive when the lead is happy.
The different characters go by different names ("a beloved child has many names").
The chase for purpose as a reason to act is everpresent in the plot.
Godot, is for me as simple as going from dot to dot.


Noteworthy the movie breaks the 4th dimension, both subtly and not so much as (around 1:23) when "They want to escape over here - you won't?" (directly to the viewer) "-Well, I can understand that.".

Philospohical references to be noted

Noteworthy: Potso mentions godot in several other (three) variations about 35+ min in; godé, godeau, godei, godot.

There are also references to the characters and the evolution of human philosophy which are very clear at points; Around 1:12 "But what is terrible is to have thought." Which is a philosophical reference to ignorance is a bliss (you are happier when you lack insight into something).
"We should turn, resolutely towards nature."
And near 1:30: "You may say it's to prevent our reasoning from foundering, no doubt. But has it not long been straying in the night (nife?) without end in the abyssal debts, that's what i sometimes wonder. We are all born mad, some remains so. We wait, we are bored. A diversion comes along and what do we do - we let it go to waste." -Live life, "never pass on a good thing".

Atlas son of Iapetus (Japetus), carrying the world on your shoulders consistantly makes you a slave to others whims and wishes is brought up as a notion. Another one is given right after; the zero sum (game) notion is mentioned individually with tears and laughs (schadenfreude/gloating is the only joy?).


There is also philosophical gold (for those who are out on their inner journey) to find in this movie such as the realisation of the inner context (your own perception and that it matters); "...they all change - only we can. We know them i tell you, unless they're not the same. After: "Unless they're not the same... ...unless they're not the same."

The inner conversation is also mentioned more firmly as around 1:16 "...we always find something, hey didi tho give us the impression that we exist. yes, yes. We are magicians, but let us preservere on what we have resolved before we forget."
When they swap hats (around 1:21) in the same way you juggle ideas or reason between different options is another striking part.

Dialogue like this also makes it clear (around 1.06) "...there you are again, there we are again, there i am again." "-You feel worse when I'm with you."


For me the it's clear that the characters represent different parts of a reality (read; in relation to reality) and that makes it clear that the plot is about the inner self (the mind) of a person and the perception of life as it's happening (there are some hints at that as when the age, potso guesses 60, 70 while gogo answers 11, when they sync their dialogue and expression of it). Here it is not about the inner struggle (for enlightenment) per se that is in focus but the mind of a person (as in Being John Malkovich 1999, though still widely different) to learn of life, retain value of those lessons and to move forward. From it, you can read that the person who wrote it and the storyline is using a mostly retrospective look on life in comparison to today.
In that way it is similar to the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).


SPOILERS ABOVE

[EDIT] Spelling.

Ignorance is only a bliss if you haven't reached awareness.
My imdb posts are getting altered.