• canthidium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s probably my favorite scifi movie that made me really feel something. I think you can find a lot to relate to, grief, depression, loss. I really think the main theme is self destruction, specifically resulting from some kind of trauma. Everyone had their own issues and they were all basically destroying themselves and finding solace in the shimmer.

      • Uranium 🟩@sh.itjust.works
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        1 year ago

        Quite literally self ‘Annihilation’, I think the shimmer itself is more analogous to cancer (continuously expanding, with random distorted outcomes, most of which are agressive towards anything untainted by the shimmer), but fundamentally each of the characters are there for their own different reasons for self-destruction with the hopes that it benefits others, as they effectively know it’s a suicide mission).

        The bit that I cannot recall if it was explained is why did the special ops guy go if he had a loving wife at home; what was his reason for self destruction?

        • canthidium@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          The bit that I cannot recall if it was explained is why did the special ops guy go if he had a loving wife at home; what was his reason for self destruction?

          I don’t remember an explanation for it aside from it was just his mission as part of being in the military. But he didn’t really have a “loving” wife at home. She cheated on him. Maybe he knew and volunteered for the mission because his marriage was over.

    • Frater Mus@lemmy.sdf.org
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      1 year ago

      The book is better IMO (other than no Portman :-) and one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever read. Highly recommended.

        • Frater Mus@lemmy.sdf.org
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          1 year ago

          Yes, I read them all the same week (bad weather kept me inside). Yesterday I read the Silo Stories (3?) in his Machine Learning anthology. I liked the first book and the short stories the best.

    • cloudless@lemmy.ml
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      1 year ago

      The movie was about cancer? Where did you read that?! The movie is the closest movie approximation of the book Alex Garland could make, considering how dense and intertwined the whole Southern Reach Trilogy is.

        • cloudless@lemmy.ml
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          1 year ago

          Sorry if my question sounded like an attack 😬 Vandermeer’s writing style deliberately opens his work to different interpretations and it’s rather interesting to see the same happening with this movie adaptation. Another interesting angle I’ve read is environmental: either in a way that Area X is return to nature (purification) or it’s the opposite (our own destruction of the planet) Getting ready to re-read the whole trilogy, will definitely include this guy’s cancer perspective as I am going through to see how it fits.

  • ProfessorScience@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    I just watched Neon Genesis Evangellion. WTF at the end of the series. Then saw there was a later movie with the “real” end. Which was also WTF.

    • LucasWaffyWaf@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Literally the first thing on my mind when I saw this thread! I needed some time to process what happened after seeing End of Evangelion.

  • Chahk@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    Primer. I needed to re-watch it at least 3 times to even begin understanding WTF was happening. Even the wiki sites that try to explain it are incomprehensible at first.

    • canthidium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I absolutely love Yorgos Lanthimos’ movies. Killing of a Sacred Deer is probably my favorite. His movies just have this uneasyness that really makes you feel…off watching them.

  • ugh@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    Donnie Darko leaves more questions than answers

    • Squirrel@thelemmy.club
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      1 year ago

      That’s one that really only makes sense after watching it multiple times. The excerpts from the book(?) tell you the “what” and “why” of the events of the movie. Okay, they tell you enough that it makes some sense…

      • ugh@lemm.ee
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        1 year ago

        I’m pretty sure only the director’s cut has the excerpts from the book. It still takes at least two watches and some pausing.

  • _nopefail@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Beau is Afraid is absolutely mental. I had no idea what to expect when we went to see it, and I’m so thankful the cinema was empty so we could audibly talk about wtf was going on throughout. It’s definitely a movie I want people to watch but with the caveat that I’m not recommending it.

    • canthidium@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      I absolutely loved Beau is Afraid, but yeah that last act was a trip. It reminded me of “Men”. The ending of that is just pure WTF.

      • _nopefail@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        The penis monster haunts my dreams! The whole movie was a trip and I absolutely loved the insanity of the first act, but the last 30 odd minutes were just mental

        • canthidium@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          Ooh, what did you think of Men? Also, Beau is a way different movie, but I thought the endings had similar vibes with a pure WTF is going on feel.

          • TeaHands@lemmy.world
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            1 year ago

            I really enjoyed the first half but have to admit it lost me a bit by the end, it just sort of kept going for a bit too long for me I think. Husband, meanwhile, was very taken with it and has been recommending it to anyone who will listen!