MovieChat Forums > Ship of Theseus (2013) Discussion > Question about the monk story ***SPOILER...

Question about the monk story SPOILERS

posted 10 years ago by itsgorab
2 replies | jump to latest

As the name of the film suggests, we are left to wonder whether the protagonists shown in the film remain the same after their respective organ transplants.
While the director has given us enough opportunities to observe "the photographer" and "the stockbroker" before and after their respective transplants, but whatever we see in the monk story is before the organ transplant. The only thing we see about the monk after his transplant is the hint that he is seen in normal clothes suggesting that he has renounced from the monk life. Although it is a big change in itself, we are still clueless regarding in what aspects his ideology has changed(if at all)?
Does anybody else feels that the story of monk after transplant needs a little more elaboration?

[–] daftspunk 10 years ago

Yes.His story and how he got transformed in the end needed more scree time as you said.
In fact i have the same problem with The Stockbroker also..never understood his actions and what happened in that segment of the story.Maybe i need a second watching or so.
Its the Photographer's story that was 100% convincing because i think it showed how she got affected by the Organ Transplant..how her life got affected.The Organ transplant was the crucial turn point in the story.Moreover it stayed true to its Title premise.I still couldn't figure out how the 'Ship of Theseus' paradox is applicable in the latter two stories.Maybe i didn't understand it..i don't know.

But in spite of the 'flaws' i liked the movie immensely and would give it a 10/10 rating.It was such a moving cinematic experience.The acting by the leads and supporting actors alike,AG's direction and screenplay(especially in long takes),the realistic dialogues and locations,how the three segments got interconnected,the lush cinematography..all these were so spectacular.

[–] itsgorab 10 years ago

In the Stockbroker story, there is some hint on his pre-transplant life, based on the conversation with his grandma... that how he is only concerned about making money, not giving anything back to the society. That long conversation gives a hindsight (though not very elaborate) on his character before transplant.

I believe the 'Ship of Theseus' paradox should be applicable in all three stories... Just that the photographers story is portrayed completely ie before and after. For the monk, only the before transplant part is elaborate. For the stockbroker, only the after transplant part could be seen by the audience.

But in my OP, I asked about the monk only because I felt there is not even a subtle hint about his post transplant life unlike the stockbroker where the conversation with grandma throws some light on his past life.

May be the fact that the monk has disowned his monk life is the only BIG hint the director wanted to include :)

The paradox is still applicable because of the last scene, where they show five more persons with the transplants from the same person (Ship? :P)

Question about the monk story ***SPOILERS***

Question about the monk story SPOILERS