The kids on the phone
Anyone know exactly why the kids on the phone talk in "hiccups"? I'm referring to the weird sound they make at the end of each sentence.
shareHe doesn't hiccup, he clears his throat. It's an ocd thing where one tries to keep germs from being in their throat.
shareI didn't say they hiccuped, I said they talked in "hiccups" (ie: spaced sentences). Even if it's just clearing their throats due to OCD, bugs from riding bicycles with their mouths open or not chewing their food properly, does it have any relevance to the plot? Thanks.
sharePerhaps, perhaps not.
Directors do this sort of stuff intentionally just to get you thinking. If it makes your viewing more pleasureable to beleive that its relevant then by all means continue that train of thought.
However its my guess that this was used for effect. So you catch every word. They probably had this minor compulsion to begin with. So my guess is that Sian Sono thought it would would be healthy for the film to have this organic attribute.
This is, of course, all speculative. Which the director intended aswell. So theres no wrong answer.
I always thought he was just perpetually sick, like that one girl from Excel Saga who's always coughing up blood when she talks...
shareI always thought he kept clearing his throat so he could sound more like an adult, its obvious he is trying to talk in a lower voice than his natural one.
shareDirectors do this sort of stuff intentionally just to get you thinking.
I don't think I'm that fond of this approach :)
I mean, if it's intentional, there's something that is trying to be communicated, regardless of its making sense or not, in the context of the plot. If anything, maybe the coughing was meant to give the conversation an aura of "oddness"? Isn't there a book related to this movie? Maybe it has a greater insight on this.
The girl coughing blood and dying all the time... Hyatt, wasn't it? Excel Saga is amusing.
I didn't think he was trying to sound older, but it's a thought. share
It's like they're putting a period, or an exclamation at the end of every sentence...
It can't be unintentional. After all it's very unlikely for the kids talking on the phone to catch cold at the same time. It must fit the puzzle somewhere...
Also, when Mitsuko found those kids, none of them were "hiccuping."
Some people clears throat when they demand attention, or when they wish to intimidate someone else, or when they're annoyed...
Ah...This movie is just fun!
By the way, who's the boy who called Kuroda's house just before he killed himself? The sub says "I think its your son." So I was like "Huh?"
It could have been a recorded message but then they show the two boys with the bunny in the cage.
What was that about???
Anybody knows about the significance of the rabbit and the chicks (later in the movie)?
I believe the rabbit signified Kuroda, they threw him scraps of information every now and then, but before the phonecall, left him in the dark. I could be wrong, more-so because Rabits are used in the next movie for something (as mentioned in a review of Noriko's Dinner Table). The rabit and the dog are used in Noriko's Dinner Table to signify the idea of family members playing roles. A father must act like a father. That's kind of why I came to the conclusion that the rabbit was Kuroda. Again, I haven't seen the second movie yet, so it's all speculation.
The chicks were in an incubator, I think that part signified renewal. They were really there becausethey needed a clean way to get skin off of the people, and a sanitized incubator was the best way because of the light and tempurature made to kill germs. However, I do think it signified rebirth, or some form of renewal. That's where those chicks hatch, and the yellow raincoats was definantly comparing the children to the newborn chicks.
As for the OCD kid; I think it's just part of his concern for germs. Perhaps he's trying to stay newborn, like the chicks, and he forces the germs out after talking.
the OCD thing, is that mentioned in the book or following movies or something i missed 'cos it seems like a bit of a stretch to me..
i'm confused about the clearing his throat thing too, so i'm not saying thats wrong. i think i agree with "trying to sound older" the best though. that was my first impression.
i wonder what exactly the writer was intending to get across by having the children say all this profound stuff about life. no 7 year old, no matter how intelligent, is going to completely understand the concepts these kids talked about. i'm not saying it was definitly an adult that put these thoughts in their minds but it was something.
it's all cool and magical when the children are the ones to see through the adults bs, but when it actually comes down to it, children's brains are not developed enough to really get that stuff so young.
maybe i'm wrong, maybe there's exceptions, but it seems like the movie gets unrealistic on this part, unless there's more to it.
(i don't know a lot about reincarnation, but if the kids were once older and commited suicide and came back as children, maybe they 'kept their wisdom?)
otherwise i just don't believe that a 7 yr old or even 12 would come up with this cult.
(ps- i haven't seen the other movies yet or read the book. i just got done watching this so please don't go on a rant proving how much more you know about this movie than me. i'm just trying to throw questions and ideas out there, not start anything)
one idea me and my friends thought was, it could be as simple as an allergy. he coughs when he is with the rabbits, when he is in the theater, he doesnt cough. extrapolate this to, when he is in contact with impurities (adults) he coughs, when he isnt, he's fine. meaning, the children in the theater, and the main character, are somehow "pure". i havent seen the second movie, so i dont know.
saying a 7 yr old cant understand those concepts is kinda unjustified, one of the beauties of childhood (which i think this movie is trying to emphasize) is that kids arnt yet corrupted by the "harsh realities of adulthood". who says adults know better? world doesnt look so good with adults in charge, funny how most social change in recent memory (especially in Japan, see Aum and the students rebellion) comes from the youth, as opposed to the "keep it the same cuz we're scared of change" adults.
just some thoughts.
In another thread someone brought up the idea that the boy clearing his throat symbolized youth finding it's voice. This interpretation makes the most sense to me, at least more so than OCD.
share