SPOILER
SPOILER
Why did the protaganist, John, smash the one kids head in with a rock.
I noticed he lived and was slow. As in dumb.
And just before getting his head smashed, he said he was sorry and asked for forgiveness.
What did he due?
Was he the kid at the start of the film at the school that told young John that he was going to beat him up and break his legs?
If not, hope someone could shed some light on this.
Thanks
Yes, he was the boy that threatened John just before he started secondary school. John got his older brother to punish him, but when the gang members were being very friendly to the boy, John seemed to feel angry, betrayed and jealous of him. That was a shocking moment when he didn't just beat the kid up, but actually used the gravestone on him. For me, that was the moment there was no going back from.
shareThanks.
That is what I had thought.
Yeah, that's what I thought.
Also, at that point in the film, I lost all sense of sorrow for John, and he became the enemy in my eyes. you can tell that he's slowly turning into a psychopath, the way he calmly goes back and has sex with the girl, moments after he almost kills a defenseless teen by dropping a gravestone on his head
I'd go so far as to say that the gravestone scene is the thesis of the movie: Evil lies where there is no forgiveness. The kid pleads with him and John finally says, "I will let it go, just remember I won't forget about it." Then he smashes the kid's head with a gravestone, walks a few feet and gets it on with his lady. Suddenly he's a Tarantino character.
The farther John travels down that path of unforgiveness, the less hope we have for him. I mean, he actually stabs Jesus! He does hug his dad instead of killing him, but it just comes off as the act of a psychopath. I don't sense any empathy on John's part; just confusion.
But the crippler was the last scene, where he's left alone with the now brain-damaged kid. I'm thinking, Okay, he finally has to face the truth. But the only movement Mullan gives us is John mustering just enough empathy to reluctantly lead the retarded kid, who wouldn't be retarded if it weren't for John, to a place where he'll be less likely to get eaten alive by lions.
I was with this movie the whole way, but ultimately it provoked me but never actually touched me.
the kid was an *beep* and he did say something after John said he'll let it go. if he were to be the star of the movie he would have gotten what he deserved.
"Nothing in this movie makes sense." said the narcoleptic.
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Yeah, the insult 'justifies' the action but of course it doesn't. Sadly John is now so power-infused that he would have beaten Canta up severely at some point anyway. It wasn't Canta's flippant '*beep* ye' as he walked away in the cemetery that spelled doom for both him and John it was when he intimidated him outside his primary school. That started the chain of events...
shareJohn backed down and was going to let Canta go on his way, but at the last moment, Canta muttered under his breath, "you *beep* idiot..." John was already furious, so this major mistake on Canta's part enraged John to the point that he lost all self-control. I thought the punch that dropped Canta was what did the damage. Canta was lying on the ground completely lifeless. When John dropped the gravestone on Canta, it looked like it only hit Canta's shoulder.
As for John making out with the girl afterwards, she was his only place of acceptance and human contact/connection. Everything else was judgement, rejection, despair, etc., etc. Physical intimacy was a way for John to feel there was something human still inside of him.
Yes. He insulted John, and although of course the extent of John's retribution is way out of proportion, the fact remains that he WOULDN'T have been beaten had he accepted John's offer of a truce without trying to have the last word.
"Your mother puts license plates in your underwear? How do you sit?!"
YES, HE WAS THE BULLY AT THE START OF THE FILM, IT WAS A VERY SAD PART OF THE FILM BUT IT WAS SO TRUE OF THAT ENVIROMENT AND MENTALITY. SADLY THERE WAS NO PART OF THAT MOVIE THAT WAS INVENTED TO SHOCK, ITS HOW IT WAS. AS FOR WALKING OUT INTO THE LIONS, THAT WAS SHOWING THAT NOTHING COULD BE ANY WORSE THAN WHAT HE WAS GOING ON IN HIS LIFE.HE WAS AN INTELLIGENT BOY AFTER ALL THE END FINISHED PERFECTLY.
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Is there not also a link for John between violence and arousal?
As we see that he is physically turned on after he is beaten up (double knife fight), similarly whilst getting intimate with his girlfriend he takes the opportunity to go and fight, once returning he is able to fully engage himself in some nookie.