My first theory is that he's in limbo, the courtyard of hell. The place for atheists and followers of (according to orthodox christianity) "wrong" faiths who haven't done anything wrong. If you have read Dante, it all adds up.
There are no children or animals there - these are generally viewed as innocent beings.
There is no joy in anything; there's no taste, smell or intoxication - in limbo you aren't punished, but there's no real joy either.
I also believe that our poor protagonist is the only inhabitant who doesn't realise that he's dead, and that is the tragedy which leads to him being sent to hell in the end. The other ones know that it doesn't get any better than this, so they're basically just trying to get by as best they can in the most boring afterlife there is.
No rule without exceptions, of course. The guy in the basement listening to music through a hole in the wall has found a gateway to heaven. He wisely wishes to keep it to himself, not risking to attract the attention of the powers that be. You can also see that he's had experience with them before; he knows what to say to stay out of trouble.
When Andreas starts to stir things up, the inhabitants are reminded of all the things that have been denied to them, something they don't like to think about. The result of the attempted breakout is that Andreas is viewed as somewhat of a troublemaker, opposing his maker's will (the poor guy doesn't know that he's dead). Simultaneously he's ruining the false bliss that keeps limbo functioning, and they can't have one or two people ruining it for everybody else, hence: the bothersome man.
My second theory: they're all ghosts trying to create a society which resembles the real world. Andreas almost manages to break through into the real world via the hole in the wall. If there had been anyone present in the kitchen, his actions would probably make the family who lived there believe in poltergeists. The men in gray overalls are probably the "ghost police" who decide to put Andreas in a place where he can't do any harm.
Either way: clever, clever movie :)
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Elbonges
16 years ago
@Durden30:
nice therories, especially the first one. there is more evidence to support your theorie, like when andreas mentioned his dream to his first "wife": he tells her about a big elk walking down a road, and she suddenly changes the subject. same with his boss, when andreas tells him that he miss children and taste, he leaves the room. the other "ghosts" don´t want to be reminded of their miserable existence whithout emotions, kids, animals and taste.
but one thing is strange, if they could reach "heaven" (sunny kitchen, andreas can take a piece of the cake, and taste it), why arent´t they trying to get there... as andreas and hugo are digging the hole in the wall, several neighbours also smell the cake (or some odeurs from the other world) and are interested in finding the source of it. so they also missed that.
maybe it´s just that the people in charge of the city want to keep their status quo...
anyways, one more time i didnt´t regret that i´ve watched a skandinavian movie. :)
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mver
16 years ago
"In limbo you aren't being punished,but there's no real joy either"
Seems like not being able/allowed to feel joy is a pretty harsh punishment! :)
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thiudans
16 years ago
I believe it is a critique of modernity. Modernism began in the 17th century (arguably) and is here in the 21st c. fulfilled in its nihilistic culmination. The nature of its realized dream it depicts with pure and ghastly forms. The bothersome man is the one for whom modernity does not fit. He is disposed of. Modernity is concerned only with the rule or axiom of the majority. Minority is disposed of. There are the qualities of the state which people have unconsciously moved toward in this nightmare of sociology:
- Destruction of the familial estate.
- Annulment of the meaning and value of death & pain
-- thereby of the meaning and value of being.
- Obliteration of struggle, contest, striving, aspiration.
- Equalization of emotion, taste and senses
-- in favor of detached, neutral "pleasurability".
- Alocality, universality, nondifferentiation, anonymity.
- Materialism, obsession with design, lack of religion or spirituality.
There is no religious allegory in this film. It is excluded by the nature of its depiction. Modernism is fulfilled only in the reduction to nothing. That is not to say that it cannot be seen in a cosmologic scheme. It is simply not presented here. That is like modernity. It claims to present an entire picture, but upon looking at the picture, one sees that oneself is excluded; life & chance are excluded. It pretends that there is no other choice; all other things are blizzard, white oblivion.
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