MovieChat Forums > Michael (2012) Discussion > Pickles

Pickles

posted 11 years ago by Kdk12-558-815577
7 replies | jump to latest

So I'm not sure if I'm reading way too much into this but just watching Michael for the second time, and wondering if the very brief scene in the supermarket where the shop assistant is sweeping up a smashed jar of pickles has any meaning? I wouldn't ask but it comes directly after the scene where Wolfgang is helping tidy the kitchen and holding the jar says 'shall I leave these out?' We also see Michael eating pickles out the jar later when he is skiing. Sure this last point doesn't mean much (he just likes pickles!), but the supermarket scene seemed to be placing particular emphasis on the smashed jar and it's cleaning up.

Any comments/thoughts? Or am I mental?

[–] boneyfido 11 years ago

It probably has some kind of significance, hopefully, an expert in these things will answer, wish now that i had paid more attention in drama class, btw, i didn't catch any of that, knew that something was broken and cleaned up, but didn't realize that Wolfgang was asking about a jar of pickles. Those things don't 'just happen' in theatre but danged if i know what point was being made beyond the obvious salacious one.
The dead cat disturbed me but fortunately it wasn't the child whose death was forshadowed.

Someone told me that if there's a gun on the wall in the first act it's going to go off by the third act, that's why i can assure you that you're not mental.

[–] Mother_Of_Two 11 years ago

I'm glad that you noticed that broken jar of pickles.

To me, it had the same meaning as the dead cat - they both foreshadow the boy's death (yes, I believe that he died in the end).

The cat tried to 'escape' its 'cell', but ended up dead.

The boy 'locks up' the jar in the cupboard and the next scene shows the jar being broken - it foreshadows the boy dying in his captivity.

"Stupid f...ing white man!"

Dead Man (1995)

[–] Kdk12-558-815577 11 years ago

Thanks for the reply Man,

Yes I suppose that makes perfect sense. Such a subtle hint for a subtle film.

However, not sure I agree about the cat. Wasn't the cat just missing? I thought Michael had found it and simply discarded it without letting the owners know, thus echoing the report on TV about the worst thing for parents of missing children is the 'not knowing'. I do agree about the forshadowing in both cases though.

I had previously imagined the boy survived, but after you've made these two points I am less optimistic.

[–] Mother_Of_Two 11 years ago

The cat was missing - that's right. Just like the boy was. I'm sure he was also missing, someone was looking for him and was probably putting up those 'MISSING' posters all over the place.

The cat left its home while Wolfgang also tried to escape his current 'home'. The cat ended up dead, and the boy likely reflected its tragic fate.

You see, I was a bit surprised when I came here after watching the film to discover that many people (if not most of them) believed that Wolfgang survived. For the first half of the movie I was still unsure if the boy will live. But somewhere after the middle I've got a very strong impression that he was totally doomed. The dead cat and the broken jar were obvious (though subtle) signs of that.

The ending is of course 100% open to interpretation - it's cleverly designed that way. It works great if you believe that Wolfgang lives. But it works (maybe) even better if you think he dies. Another board member recently suggested that Michael killed and buried the boy - before he crashed. And it seems there's nothing you can disprove this theory with! Besides, this version explains why the mother and the brother didn't notice the table fully set up for two persons - because Michael had time to clear it up! Brilliant film.

PS: I guess I just made you even less optimistic about the boy's fate. Sorry.

"Stupid f...ing white man!"

Dead Man (1995)

[–] 11 years ago

[deleted]

[–] spacemouse 9 years ago

I didn't interpret the ending as the boy dying - and why would he with his supply of food and water.
The ending scene and the choice of music (repeated from the earlier scene) signified the boy's release to me. I thought the ending was perfect - cut to black - ambiguity and dread - followed by that song. The kid lived.

[–] mariogiantomas 7 years ago

I am almost 100% certain that you are right.

The boy died, possibly from starvation, possibly from a blow he took when he tried to escape, while all the sanctimonious *beep* about what a great guy Michael was was going on at the funeral.

In another thread, someone criticized the film makers for ending the film with the door opening and not showing what the mother saw. If no one else said something similar, I'm going to add this to that thread:

The mother probably saw a dead boy, bloated and rotting on the floor of her "great guy" son's basement.

The fact that some people thought they were "denied" the tearful reunion with the boy's mother wrapping him in her arms and rejoicing are kidding themselves, and to a certain extent minimizing the peril faced by people trapped in such circumstances. The absence of their jailer is a hazard to their lives. It's part of the moral outrage of Michael's action that he basically took on a parental role in the boy's life, making Wolfgang dependent on Michael for his survival.

This is a tragic film, but even though the boy is most likely dead, there is a slight bright side to it, that Wolfgang's parents will now know where their son is. He is in the ground. The fact that he's also a fictional character is some consolation, but he's representative of real people.