I believe that after watching the film, many people will think that this is an obscure movie. When analysing the film, I found a very interesting thing, that is, unlike some other difficult films I have watched, the narrative technique of this film is actually very simple. I might as well list a few here. The incomprehensibility of "An Andalu Dog" is due to the incoherence and no logic between the shots. The incomprehension of "Memories" is due to the intersecting of flashbacks and the protagonist. The unknowns of the past and the incomprehension of the fourth paragraph of "2001: A Space Odyssey" are due to the abstract and meaningless connections between shots. The switching between shots of "Death Illusion" is very coherent. The film has always maintained the traditional narrative method. There are almost no interlude paragraphs and non-sequential combinations in the film, and there is basically no abstract and non-sequence. Meaningful shots (Although there are some shots from Downey’s dreams in the film, such as a flooded school, this cannot be regarded as an abstract shot). So, why is the film so obscure? In order to analyze this film in depth, it is necessary to make a list of the film first with the help of Matz's theory of large group segments:
1 The prologue paragraph Downey wakes up on the mountain and rides a bicycle home. (Scene 1～5)
2 In the scene, Downey’s family has dinner, and Downey quarrels with his sister. (Scene 6)
3 Group Duan Downey’s mother talks with her sister. When the mother entered Downey's room, the two quarreled. Downey's mother told Downey's father the matter. Downey took medicine to the mirror. Downey's father wakes up to watch TV at night. (Scene
7-11 ) In paragraph 4, Frank wakes Downey and tells him that the world will perish in 28 days. (Scene 12) In
paragraph 5, the house of Downey's house suddenly violently shakes. (Scene 13-15).
6 Scene Downey is woken up by a neighbor on the golf course. (Scene 16) In
paragraph 7, Downey went home and learned that his room was hit by an airplane engine. People from the FAA found Downey’s parents and arranged a hotel for Downey’s family. (Scene 17) In
paragraph 8 of the hotel, Downey quarreled with his little sister. Downey's parents were fortunate that Downey had escaped from the dead. (Scene 18~19)
9 Scene Downey waits for the school bus with his younger sister and some classmates and chats. (Scene 20)
10 paragraph campus, most of the main characters in the film appear. (Scene 21-22) In the
11 paragraph English class, the teacher asked Downey to answer the questions. Gretchen entered the classroom and took a seat next to Downey. (Scene 23) In
paragraph 12, Downey's father drove Downey in the car. The two were chatting in the car, and almost ran into Mrs. Sbarro. The old man went to the mailbox to read the letter, but there was no letter in it. The old man whispered to Downey before returning to his house. (Scene 24~25) In the
13th scene, Downey goes to see a psychologist for the first time and tells her something about his new friend Frank. (Scene 26)
14 scene of Famo's lesson, playing Jim's videotape. (Scene 27) In
paragraph 15, Frank leads Downey to destroy the main water pipe of the school. (Scene 28)
16. Assembled Duan Downey and a few classmates waited for the school bus and learned that the school was flooding. Gretchen was bullied by two boys in the class, and Downey sent her home. (Scene 29~31)
Scene 17 Downey goes to see the psychiatrist for the second time and talks about Gretchen. (Scene 32)
18. Combination Duan police come to Downey's class to investigate the flooded case of the school. Downey was attacked in the toilet. (Scene 33~34) In the
19th scene, Downey and his friends are playing in the suburbs. Once again, he sees Mrs. Sbarro who has been waiting for a letter. (Scene 35)
20 The parent meeting of the alternate narrative combination segment, and Famo speaks. Downey met Frank in the toilet. (Scene 36～37)
21 Combined segment English class, Downey poetry recitation, mentioning Frank. Downey contradicted the teacher during Farmer's class. Downey was punished by the school. Downey’s sister mentioned that Downey had run into the teacher when she called. (Scene 38 ~ 41)
22 The combination of Duan Downey went to Manitou teacher to ask about time travel. Manitou mentioned Sbarro and her "The Philosophy of Time Travel". Downey saw Sbarro in the photo of the school teachers. At dinner, Downey mentioned Sbarro. (Scene 42~44)
23 Scene Downey goes to see the psychiatrist for the third time and mentions what Sbarro said to him. (Scene 45)
24 Duan Downey’s mother talks about Jim with friends. Downey found that he could see where everyone was going for the next one, and followed the guide, and got a gun in the closet. (Scene 46～48)
25 Duan Downey and his classmates wait for the school bus. Teacher Manitou's class. Downey and Gretchen go home together. (Scene 47~49)
26 Duan Downey's parents talked about Downey while eating. Downey and sister carved pumpkins. Downey's parents went to see Downey's psychiatrist. Downey stabbed Frank in the eye with a knife. (Scene 50~53)
27 Scene Downey and Gretchen in the game room. (Scene 54)
28 Duan Manito and Karen talk about Downey. Jim came to Downey's school to give a speech. Downey mentioned Mrs. Sbarro to Gretchen, and they went to Mrs. Sbarro's house together. (Scene 56~59)
29 The combination of Duan Downey goes to Teacher Manitou again. In English class, Karen mentioned Frank again. At night, Downey lay in bed thinking. (Scene 60～62)
30 Combination Duan Downey finds Jim's wallet and learns his residence. Downey went to see the psychiatrist for the fourth time. Teacher Manitou's class. (Scene 63～66)
31 The alternate narrative combination Duan Downey and Gretchen go to the movies. Jim is present at Downey’s school performance. Gretchen fell asleep, Downey came out of the cinema, burned Jim's house, and then returned to the cinema. (Scene 67~70)
32 Scene Downey and Gretchen wake up on the mountain. (Scene 71)
33. Downey talks with his father. (Scene 72)
34. Downey's sister sees the news of Jim's arrest on TV. (Scene 73)
35 The alternate narrative combination Duan Glenn is fired. Farmer learns of Jim's arrest. In English class, Gretchen refuted the point made by Downey. Famo went to find Downey's mother. (Scene 74~78)
36 Scene Downey talks with his mother. Downey wrote a letter to Mrs. Sparrow. (Scene 79~80)
37. Downey and his sister send away his mother and sister. (Scene 81)
Teacher of paragraph 38, Downey learned that Glenn was fired and met Chen Xueli in the corridor. (Scene 82~84)
39 Scene Downey goes to see a psychiatrist for the fifth time. (Scene 85)
40. Downey’s sister tells Downey that she was admitted to Harvard University. (Scene 86)
41 Assemble Duan Downey's house and have a Halloween party. The psychiatrist left a message to Downey's mother on the phone. Gretchen came to Downey's house. Downey's mother called home. (Scene 87~91)
Section 42 Downey takes Gretchen to Mrs. Sbarro's house. At Mrs. Sparrow's house, the two were attacked. Gretchen was run over by Frank to death. Downey shot Frank to death. Mrs. Sparrow said a word to Downey before returning to the house. (Scene 92~94)
Section 43 Downey leaves home and drove up the mountain with Gretchen's body. Downey’s mother and sister were travelling on a plane crash. (Scene 95~101)
44 Everything that happened before the non-sequential paragraph. (Scene 102) In
paragraph 45, Downey is killed by an airplane engine. (Scene 103)
46 The people around Downey are in their respective bedrooms. Downey's body was carried out, and the engine was transported away. (Scene 104~110)
Section 47 Gretchen passes by the door of Downey's house, she does not know Downey. (Scene 111)
In this combined analysis, it is not difficult for us to notice a clue. Every time something happened to Downey in the film, Downey went to his psychiatrist to talk to it. In fact, in the film, the psychiatrist can't be regarded as a healer at all. She is only a listener for Downey, and also as a medium for the director to express Downey's inner world. Downey went to the psychiatrist's house five times in total. By paying attention to the key points of the five conversations, we can sum up Downey's inner thoughts. For the first time, Downey mentioned Frank and said that Frank told him that the end of the world was coming, but he didn’t seem to take it seriously. At this time, Downey didn’t believe what Frank said. In terms of performance, he is still worried about this. For the second time, the psychiatrist hypnotized Downey. Downey also expressed his inner love and sexual desire for Gretchen, and even started to masturbate. This shows that Downey’s inner world has happened very much because of Gretchen’s appearance. The big change, in fact, later Gretchen's induction was even more effective than Frank. This paragraph is also very humorous, and the soundtrack is also very soothing. For the third time, Downey talked to the psychologist about Sbarro and the book "The Philosophy of Time Travel". When the psychologist asked him what he thought of Sbarro's saying "All living things will die alone", Donnett By the time he was 8 years old, the puppy he raised died alone. He showed fear and sadness. At this time, Downey seemed to have discovered his fate, but he was still unsure. For the fourth time, Downey told the psychologist about his supernatural ability to see where everyone was going in the next movie. When the doctor asked him what he found, he lied. In fact, he found a gun. , And later he killed Frank with this gun. The fifth time, and the longest the two talked about, after the hypnosis, Downey talked about the destruction of the water valve and the burning of Jim’s house. Downey said that he "has the ability to create a time machine", which means that he has already Knowing his destiny, but he still couldn't accept it, so he became extremely painful and helpless. These five conversations can summarize the changes in Downey’s mental state. Simply put, Downey was close to his fate under Frank’s guidance, but at first he did not believe Frank’s words, when Gretchen was used as the second inducement. After the adversary appeared, Downey began to understand his destiny. At first he was not sure, but when he read Sbarro’s book and found that he had the ability to be a "living recipient", he finally knew his destiny, and he changed Got panic and helpless. In the end he also fulfilled his destiny under the inducement of Frank and Gretchen. The characters in the film are also very
A lot of shots are used in the film, such as scene 1, scene 17, scene 19, scene 23, scene 31, scene 43, scene 47, scene 50, scene 59, scene 61, scene 72, scene 90, scene 91 , Scene 101 and so on. At the beginning of the film, there was a 50-second zoom shot. The shot slowly moved from a long distance to Downey lying on the mountain road. With thunder and birds in the background, Downey was behind. With a weird smile, and then leaving the frame, this paragraph created a very weird atmosphere at the beginning of the film. Pushing the lens can also enable the viewer to understand the relationship between the whole and the part, the relationship between the subject and the background, and the environment within a lens. When the subject is gradually enlarged in the frame, the audience's attention will be guided to the desired The position of performance. In scene 47, Downey and a few classmates were waiting for the school bus. It was a middle shot. Suddenly an airplane flew across the sky. With the roar of the airplane, everyone looked up and the camera was slow. Pushing forward slowly towards Downey, Downey raised his head slowly and lowered it slowly, his mouth tilted, looking melancholy. I think this shot is the best one in the film. On the one hand, it successfully directs the audience’s attention to Downey’s expression, and on the other hand it hints at Downey’s fate. In scene 59, it also started to be a middle shot. Suddenly Gretchen seemed to see something, and the music began to become weird. At this time, the camera began to move towards the two of them, so that the audience could clearly notice the changes in their expressions and play back. In the camera, Mrs. Sparrow is looking at them from the balcony. This has the same effect as the push shot in scene 47. The push camera also enhances the fidelity and credibility of the picture, and makes people feel like they are on the scene. For example, in scene 19, Downey’s parents are talking about high school classmates who died unexpectedly. There is only one shot in this section, which is a 85-second push shot. This shot really gives a strong sense of reality.
So how do we explain the reasons why the film is difficult to understand through this combined analysis? As you can see, the film has a total of 48 paragraphs and 111 scenes. What does this show? Let’s compare the movie "Once Upon a Time in America". The director’s cut version of "Once Upon a Time in America" is 133 minutes, while the version of "Once Upon a Time in America" is 229 minutes. "Once Upon a Time in America" has only 29; "Death Illusion" has 111 scenes, and "Once Upon a Time in America" has only 86 scenes. From this set of data, it is not difficult to see that although the film "Death Illusion" is basically narrated according to the narrative method, the frequency of scene switching is very high during the narrative process. Often when the audience is watching a scene, they have switched to the next scene without understanding what the scene wants to express, such as scene 56, where Manitou and Karen talk about Downey. This scene only lasts. In just 15 seconds, it was switched to the scene where Jim came to Downey’s school to give a speech; there was also scene 71, where Downey and Gretchen woke up on the mountain, this scene only lasted less than 10 seconds, and there was nothing. Lines. The high-frequency scene switching makes the rhythm of the film very fast, so that it is difficult for the viewer to have time to think. This is the reason why the film is difficult to understand from the structural analysis.
However, the complexity of this film is not only reflected in the structure, but more importantly, it is reflected in its unique view of time and space. The famous film critic Jean Mitri once proposed that film, as an art form, is a way to integrate reality, art and language through a unique symbolic form. This is to deny objective realism, combining reality and art in the film, and using the logic of the film itself to express what the playwright wants to express. The movie "Death Illusion" is obviously not a realist movie. For such a movie, the logic in the movie does not need to be the same as the logic in reality. The movie can create its own set of time-space views, and this time-space view only It needs to be applied to the film itself. Simply put, as long as it can "justify itself". To analyze the time and space view of the film, the book "The Philosophy of Time and Space Travel" is very important in the film. It is the basis of the time and space view throughout the film. There is no mention of the specific content of this book in the cinema version, so it is almost impossible to understand the film when watching the cinema version, and most of the chapters of the book are interspersed in the director’s cut version, but it is also not It's not very complete. You can find the complete content of this book on the movie's official website. The complete content after translation is as follows: Foreword to
"The Philosophy Of Time Travel" This book is a simple guide to the impermanence of the sky, I hope it is purely fictitious, otherwise I have to pray for you, as predicted in the book This happened during my lifetime, please Wanwu to find me before it is too late. —— Roberta-Ann Spyro Chapter 1 Tangent Universe in October 1944 The Primary Universe is full of crisis. Wars, plagues, famines, natural disasters. Everyone can't escape death. The fourth dimension of time is relatively stable, but not impenetrable. Accidents that cause the texture to collapse rarely occur. Once the offline universe appears, it will be extremely unstable and can only last for a few weeks.
If the offline universe collapses, its remains in the original universe—the black hole—will destroy all existence.
Chapter 2 Artifact and Living
When the offline universe appears, people near the space-time vortex will be at the epicenter of this dangerous new world.
The first sign of the offline universe is the appearance of the "sacred object".
When the "sacred object" appears, the "living body" will take it back out of curiosity. "Holy objects" are usually iron tools, such as arrowheads from ancient Maya civilization, or iron swords from medieval Europe.
The "sacred objects" sent back to the original universe are often regarded as religious totems because their appearance on the earth completely violates the logic of cause and effect.
Chapter Three Water and Metal
Water and metal are the key elements of time travel.
In the offline universe, water is the barrier element used to construct the gate of time and space.
Metal is the transmission element that constructs the relic container.
Chapter 4 Dreams
When the "manipulated" (Manipulated) wakes up from the offline universe, they will still be entangled by the nightmare, but most of them will not remember the previous experience. Those who retain a little memory will be the ones who were in the dream. I am deeply sorry for the bad behavior.
The "sacred object" itself is the only physical evidence of its existence, and everything else has been wiped out in the offline universe.
According to ancient mythology, a Mayan warrior was shot by an arrow and fell off a cliff, but there was no army or enemy nearby.
A medieval knight was mysteriously pierced by an unforged sword.
The Lord said that everything has a reason.
Chapter 5 Living Receiver (Living Receiver) The
living receiver is the selected guide, responsible for placing the holy relic in the position of returning to the original universe.
No one knows how or why he was selected.
He will be given the power of the fourth dimension. Powerful power, mind movement, mind control, summoning the magic of water and fire.
He will be entangled by nightmares, visions, and auditory hallucinations.
Those around him, called the "accused", will fear him and try to destroy him.
Chapter 6 Manipulated Dead Manipulated Dead
is more powerful than the living receiver. If a person dies in the offline universe, he will contact the living recipient through the Fourth Dimensional Construct.
The fourth-dimensional channel is composed of water.
The death controller controls the living recipient accordingly.
He will set up an "Ensurance Trap" to ensure that the living recipient can safely send the holy objects back to the universe.
If the trap operates successfully, the living recipient will have no choice but to use his four-dimensional divine power to send the holy objects back to the universe in time before the black hole collapses.
Chapter 7: Manipulated Living: Manipulated Living
is usually friends/neighbors around the recipient of the living body.
Unfortunately, due to the task of returning holy relics, they will often show irrational violent tendencies.
Under this condition, they will spare no effort to avoid their annihilation in the offline universe.
Through "The Philosophy of Time and Space Travel" carefully compiled by director Richard Kelly, a "book" that provides a detailed explanation of the film's view of time and space, we can conduct a more in-depth analysis of the film. The first thing to understand is, at what time did the film take place in the offline universe? Many people think that the sign of the offline universe is that the engine fell into Downey’s room. This is unreasonable. If the offline universe was created at this time, then Frank guided Downey out of the house and told the world that the world would perish in 28 days. The thing happened in the Primordial Universe, and at this time Frank was still alive, unable to use his "dead controller" ability. The generation of the offline universe is the distortion of time and space caused by the falling of the engine, and the "Philosophy of Time and Space Travel" mentioned that the first sign of the offline universe is the appearance of "sacred objects", then we can only understand this: due to the distortion of time and space The off-line universe was created, and the moment the engine appeared was the moment when the off-line universe was created. This moment was not the moment when the engine fell in Downey’s room. Once the off-line universe was created, Frank, the "dead controller", could use his ability to call Awaken Downey and guide him out of the house to prevent Downey from being killed by the engine. In other words, this process occurred after the offline universe was created and before the engine fell into Downey's room. So, in the offline universe, which ones are "dead controllers" and which are "living ones"? In the whole film, only two people died-Frank and Gretchen, so among the characters that appeared in the film, only these two people were "dead controllers" (according to the book "Time Travel Philosophy" on the "dead controllers" The explanation of ", it cannot be ruled out that there are other "dead controllers", but they did not appear in the film). Every time Frank appeared in the offline universe, except for the real appearance when he drove Gretchen to death, in fact, Frank’s bunny suit was worn to attend the Halloween party held at Downey’s house that night. (Frank may be Donnie’s sister’s boyfriend), but by accident, Gretchen was killed while driving to Donnie’s house, and he was killed by Downey, so he became the one who died in the offline universe-death Control body. Frank, who was shot and killed by Downey here, was not the "dead controller" Frank who led Downey in front. He was only killed by Downey because of accidentally crushing Gretchen. Before Frank became the "dead controller", he Don't even know Downey. And the Frank that Downey met before he killed Frank, it was Frank who was killed by Downey who contacted him through the four-dimensional channel. This can also be seen as a kind of destiny. From this point, it is not difficult to draw an inference: no matter what time the "dead controller" dies in the offline universe, it can Guide the living recipient at any time in the offline universe. This inference also explains why Gretchen is clearly a living person but exists as a "dead controller". Different from Frank's guidance method, Gretchen's guidance method is to directly enter Downey's life, become Downey's lover, and complete the guidance of Downey through his own death. Compared to Frank's guidance, Gretchen seems to be more effective. So, in what state did Downey "complete the task" in the end? Was it because he loved Gretchen or chose to self-destruct after seeing through her "conspiracy" and her own destiny? The former must be there. After Downey used the ability of the “living receiver” to send the “sacred object” back to the original universe, he returned to the car, looked at Gretchen affectionately, and the camera slowly moved forward. Pushing the camera for a full 12 seconds, it can be seen that regardless of whether Downey knew that Gretchen was the dead controller who set up the "guidance trap," he loved her deeply. At the end of the offline universe, Downey sat on the roof of the car with a smirk, as well as his smirk before being killed by the engine in the original universe, which can be seen as a mockery of his own destiny. Downey had read the book "The Philosophy of Time Travel", and he was very smart. According to this, Downey should know that Gretchen is also a "dead controller." In scene 90, Gretchen said to Downey that "some people are born tragic characters". On the surface, she was talking about herself, but in fact it was also implying that Downey was destined to be a tragic "derailer" in the end. This is actually The moment when the offline universe is created has already been arranged. A kind of sarcasm. Downey had read the book "The Philosophy of Time Travel", and he was very smart. According to this, Downey should know that Gretchen is also a "dead controller." In scene 90, Gretchen said to Downey that "some people are born tragic characters". On the surface, she was talking about herself, but in fact it was also implying that Downey was destined to be a tragic "derailer" in the end. This is actually The moment when the offline universe is created has already been arranged. A kind of sarcasm. Downey had read the book "The Philosophy of Time Travel", and he was very smart. According to this, Downey should know that Gretchen is also a "dead controller." In scene 90, Gretchen said to Downey that "some people are born tragic characters". On the surface, she was talking about herself, but in fact it was also implying that Downey was destined to be a tragic "derailer" in the end. This is actually The moment when the offline universe is created has already been arranged.
Regarding the film's view of time and space and the universe, there are still many things worth discussing. First, use "The Philosophy of Time and Space Travel" to analyze the general context of the film: The
original universe: October 1, 1988 (Scene 1~11)
Offline universe: October 2, 1988 at 0:00 (before this moment the offline universe It has been generated, but it is not clear exactly at what time)——October 30, 1988 at 6:42:12 (scene 12~102)
Original universe: after 0:00 on October 2, 1988 (scene 103~111 )
Although the timing of the film is from October 1, 1988 to October 30, and then to October 2, 1988 in the timing chart listed above, the film is not a flashback or interlude. In fact, there are almost no interludes in the film. Style paragraphs or non-sequential paragraphs, the development of the entire story is completely developed in the order set by the film’s time-space view. The specific development process is as follows: Before 0:00 on October 2, 1988, an aircraft engine ("sacred object") suddenly appeared in the original universe, and this aircraft engine room came from an aircraft accident on October 30 In the process of falling, the engine produced a time-space disorder and came here. The book "The Philosophy of Time and Space Travel" said: "The fourth dimension of time is relatively stable, but it is not impenetrable. Accidents that cause the texture to collapse rarely happen. "This is an accident that caused the texture to collapse. This accident produced an offline universe. The original universe time stopped at the same time that the offline universe was created. The time axis became the time axis of the offline universe. The original universe will be 28 The queen perishes. On October 30, 28 days later, Downey used the ability of a "living receiver" to send the engine back to the original universe, thus avoiding the appearance of black holes. The time of the original universe restarted, when Downey in the room was smashed to death by the engine.
Next, I want to talk about the issue of circulation. Since the book "The Philosophy of Time and Space Travel" is the most authoritative theoretical basis for the film, then we need to find answers here. The most critical sentence is this sentence: "If the offline universe collapses, its remains in the original universe-black holes will destroy everything." Through this sentence, it seems clear that there will be no cycles. But there is still a problem. Once the offline universe is created, the time of the original universe stops. That is to say, the moment when the offline universe is generated is the intersection of the original universe and the offline universe, then at the moment when the offline universe collapses and perishes (the moment when the black hole is created) ), it is also the intersection with the original universe and the offline universe, that is, the creation of the offline universe, the collapse of the offline universe, and the time of the original universe happened at the same time. This is obviously not true. There are loopholes in any theory, but in the movie, we can't think about the problem according to the logic in reality, so we don't know whether there is a cycle, and there is no need to argue on this issue. But I still want to elaborate on
the hypothesis of no loop and the hypothesis of loop: the hypothesis of no loop: this hypothesis is very simple, which means that Downey has only one chance to complete the task. If Downey does not complete the task, then the offline universe Collapse, the black hole destroys the original universe, that is, everything is destroyed and the world is destroyed. In this case, Downey must complete the task, so everything that happens in the film is arranged by the "god", and Downey has no possibility of failure. Even if Downey wanted to change his destiny subjectively, he still couldn't change it. It can even be said that even Downey's thoughts are under the control of "God".
There is a circular assumption: I am more inclined to this assumption, because such an assumption will make the film more poetic. If Downey did not send the "sacred object" back to the original universe, then the original universe would be destroyed. This destruction refers to the original universe after the time when the original universe stopped, and the original universe before this moment. The original universe (that is, everything that has happened in the original universe) will not change (what has happened will not change). That’s right, the original universe did perish at this moment, but the original universe before this moment still existed, and it was the same as the offline universe that was just created (similarly, the original universe existed before it perished. The intersection of) still exists, that is, after the collapse of the offline universe, time will return to the intersection of the original universe time and the offline universe, everything will be repeated (Downey will fail again), and the universe will fall into a 28-day never In the endless loop of rest. This obviously shouldn’t happen, and it’s something that "God" didn't want to see. So "God" gave Downey the "living recipient" some vague memories. It was precisely because of the changes in Downey's behavior that the vague memories caused Downey. Each cycle will be slightly different, knowing that after repeated countless times, a scene in the film appears and the endless loop is terminated. Under such circumstances, if Downey himself is willing, he can become an immortal person. As long as he never breaks this cycle, he can live forever in the 28-day cycle. Perhaps after countless cycles, Downey understood his destiny, understood the meaning of life, and no longer was afraid of "dying alone", so he chose to complete his mission, which is to accept that he will eventually be in the original universe. The fate of being killed by an airplane engine in the movie.
It is worth mentioning that whether it is a non-circular hypothesis or a circular hypothesis, the intervention of "God" is decisive.
There is also the issue of "energy conservation". There is a hypothesis that the generation of the offline universe is related to the law of conservation of energy, that is, energy will not be generated out of thin air, nor will it disappear out of thin air, and it is precisely because of space-time disorder that an airplane engine appears out of thin air in the original universe (equivalent to appearing out of thin air). Energy), and it was the appearance of this engine that violated the law of conservation of energy, which created the offline universe. This assumption may seem reasonable, but it is actually untenable. First of all, I still want to emphasize that when analyzing movies, we must follow the logic of the movie rather than the logic of reality. Therefore, we should still find the answer in the movie. In the fourth chapter of "The Philosophy of Time and Space Travel," it is written: "The'sacred object' itself is the only physical evidence of its existence, and everything else has been wiped out in the offline universe." This sentence illustrates the origin of being saved. In the universe, the "sacred object" still exists, so where did the "sacred object" come from? This is unexplainable, because everything else has been wiped out in the offline universe, so it is written in Chapter 2: "The'sacred objects' sent back to the original universe are often regarded as religious totems because they are on earth. Appearance completely violates the logic of causation." The appearance and existence of "sacred object" has nothing to do with the law of conservation of energy. And Downey's death by the holy object was also an arrangement of the "God". He must die. The appearance of the "Holy Object" and the death of the "living recipient" can be regarded as a balance. This is my understanding. In fact, the ending of the film is originally an open-ended one, so there are many answers to the question of "Why Downey must die".
There are certain religious elements in the film. Although in scene 85, the psychiatrist said Downey’s is an agnostic, but from a perspective other than the film, the whole film is still based on a theism. . In addition, the film also contains a kind of "fatalism", that is, Downey's unalterable final destiny. There is also a discussion on "whether it can be changed in the future".
Although the film is very complicated, what it wants to express is a sense of loneliness of "no old people before and no people afterwards". As an alternative, the character of Downey carries a sadness everywhere in the film. Downey’s dad is actually the person who knows Downey best among all the people around Downey. In the dialogue in scene 72, Downey’s dad said, "Most of them are fools, and what they conspired is just a fool. "They are afraid of people like you because they know that they are not as smart as you." This reminds me of D.W. Griffith, known as the "Father of Movies". He completed "Party Facing Differences" in 1916. The film used unprecedented editing techniques to cut the four stories into fragments and proceed. Re-splicing and transitioning with the lens of his mother shaking the cradle. This is the first application of nonlinear narrative in the film. Unfortunately, this over-advanced film concept surpassed his era, and the box office finally failed miserably. After that, Griffith did not achieve much, and ended in gloom.
Orson Wells made his debut at the age of 25-"Citizen Kane", which is called "modern cinema", and at the age of 25, it was also his debut, Richard Kelly does not seem to lose to his predecessors at all, "Death Illusion" can be called a nearly perfect work. However, I don't know why, after he shot "Death Illusion", there is no better work. But no matter what, a "Death Illusion" is enough to show that Richard Kelly is a talented director.
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