MovieChat Forums > Pieta (2012) Discussion > The eel and the rabbit.

The eel and the rabbit.

posted 11 years ago by omfgitsrohit
7 replies | jump to latest

Two scenes that really struck a chord with me the second time was regarding the eel and the rabbit.

She said she was his mother, left her number and the eel. The eel fell out and started writhing in pain and he felt responsible for it. It echoed the abandoned child he identifies with on some level deep down. He took it, put it in the fish tank. Then stares at its innocence and fragility. This is his first connection to another being. This is the first time he's felt empathy. Later, when his mother takes the eel and cooks it, he's startled and saddened by what's become of it.

The rabbit was left alone too, when it was initially captured to be slaughtered.

http://premiercritic.blogspot.in

[–] tvandfilmbuff 11 years ago

Does anyone look at an eel and see "innocence and fragility"? I think you could be right about it being his first connection to another being. But, in my opinion, it's in a different, more tragic sense. Eels, the marine version of a snake, is cold-blooded, slithery, slimy, unlovable, and this eel in particular was an abandoned survivor. In my opinion, he empathizes for the exact opposite traits of innocence and fragility. He was a cold-blooded, slithery, slimy, unlovable, abandoned survivor too. When his mother killed it so easily and tried to serve it to him for breakfast, he couldn't stomach (bad pun) her so easily discarding it (him) again.

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[–] omfgitsrohit 11 years ago

That is possible too, but he doesn't seem like someone who'd be aware of all those things, lol. If you rewatch that scene, you'll see that the eel is helpless and imprisoned. Most helpless animals do give off innocence and fragility.

http://premiercritic.blogspot.in

[–] rooprect 10 years ago

I haven't seen this movie and came here to see if it had any actual animal killing or cruelty like Ki duk Kim films have had in the past. The scene you described sounds intentionally disturbing. Does it look like the eel and rabbit were actually killed for the camera? Simulated violence is ok with me, but if the director had animals actually killed it's not my cup of tea.

[–] omfgitsrohit 10 years ago

The eel is cut up and cooked if I remember right. The rabbit gets away.

http://premiercritic.blogspot.in

[–] rooprect 10 years ago

Yikes. Well, at least the bunny got away! Thanks for the info.

For what it's worth, even though I haven't seen the movie, I agree that eels can give off the air of innocence & fragility, even though we don't exactly want to cuddle with them. I think it's something about the way they writhe desperately, much like earthworms; their contortions show us a feeling of helpless panic. A powerful visual.

[–] klday 10 years ago

The rabbit is set free by the woman but is hit by a car.

[–] TheManInOil 8 years ago

The rabbit gets hit by a car as soon as it's freed, and seeing this is what leads the mother to kill the eel. I think she becomes cynical about the idea of pretending that keeping the animals alive somehow means everything's going to be okay.