Is it an Apologia for masculinity, or an Elegy? No matter what you think it is, you may agree that the film is also about the transient, subtle chemistry between people in close proximity: how awkwardness turns into gentleness and warmth, how fleeting physical attraction can be, and how fragile is our carefully constructed self-protection. This close-quarter intrigue is projected, through brillian black-and-white cinematography, against an immense canvas of beautiful, serene, mystifying lake landscape.
A few homework questions: Is the wife a completely sympathetic character? Why did the husband decide to disappear? Metaphor of the boy? Metaphor of the knife?
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