MovieChat Forums > Nói albinói (2003) Discussion > Kirkegarrd (spoilers)

Kirkegarrd (spoilers)

posted 18 years ago by vincebruno11
7 replies | jump to latest

i may not be a smart intellectual, but it seems to me the whole theme of the movie is summed up in the book sellers quote of Kirkegarrd which i think means that restlessness to the point of feeling trapped is the human condition. there are a lot of references to graves and Noi even points out that Kirkegarrd means "grave yard". Noi's basement refuge is just like a tomb of alienantion, but his alienantion saves him in the end. But is he really saved or will he just go on, even in beautiful Hawaii, being alienated and restless?

[–] runawaybuny2000 18 years ago

this movie has many subtle messages about the human condition. meaningless, death, unused potential etc. i totally understood his attempt to find solace in the womb like basement refuge. we also use ipods to escape the harsh realities of everyday grind. it probably saved him in terms of his sanity and certainly saved him in the end as you said. as to whether he could transform his sense of alienation and meaninglessness even in a tropical paradise, our inner world and all the pitfalls and potentials we carry are quite portable. salvation is a lifetime project.

[–] mark-daniels 17 years ago

The Kierkegaard quote was not accidental. Soren believed that the normal human condition is despair over their own mortality - they suffer "fear and loathing, and a sickness unto death." Kinda like Nausea described by Jean Paul Sartre. Noi's fortune teller says, "All I see is death in that cup." The movie is about death. The ten palm trees at the end - ten dead people who finally have escaped existence. The ultimate irony - we live to fear death, but death is are only deliverance from existence. Now if that isnt existential, what is?! If this is the real message to the film, then its far more dark and depressing than I guessed before. I have seen this maybe 7 times - the message is truly dark and depressing.

[–] leczorn 14 years ago

Wow, it's great to see so many in depth analyses of this movie! I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who disects and gets down to the core of message movies such as this!

I do now see how the Kirkegaard quote could symbolize a lot of things in the movie and I never counted the number of palm trees, let alone compared it to the number of people who died, but what an observation.

I don't know about Iceland in particular, but I know that Europe in general is very secular these days. The church attendance rate in most Europeans countries is about 5-10%. That could explain a European movie having a bleak outlook on life. If you don't believe there is an afterlife, the pain of life seems a lot more pointless.

But I don't think the movie is quite as pessimistic as some people do. I think one of the core messages is that sometimes clinging to things holds us back and losing those things liberates us.

Noi, like many Icelandic people, felt isolated and longed for the outside world. And when he lost everyone who was close to him, there was nothing left to stop him from pursuing his dreams.

Dagur Kari said that if there is a sequel, he envisions it being set in Cuba, which I think would be fascinating.

And one minor correction - it was actually Oskar, not Noi, who pointed out that Kirkegaard means graveyard.

[–] thanatoswd 16 years ago

Does anyone know, which book of Kirkegaard contains such quotation?
I wish to read that one, but cant seem to find it.
edit:eventually i found it, thanks anyway.

[–] mephisto__666 16 years ago

and what one was it?

[–] amidacos 11 years ago

Either/Or: A Fragment of Life

[–] sageonelove 11 years ago

Wonderful thread, thanks for starting it.