Always guilt

A visit to the movie theatre together with the woman of Saturday's chat.

Of course the film that had to be seen was "Inception" by director and writer Christopher Nolan.
With Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Ellen Page.

It is the story of a thief that can be hired.
To enter the minds of people and return with secrets.
Or to enter the minds of persons and change the way they think about something.
The way into the minds is by dreaming.
Both the thief and the victim need to be asleep for the process to be effective.

An interesting concept although this method exists as long as there are human beings.

One very good thing of this film "Inception" is that it doesn't approach the audience as if they were dummies.
It is a highly intelligent film and it invites to make a brain effort to understand what is happening in the film.

Obviously the director and the producers believed this was also a weak point of the film.
Because the Hollywood philosophy is that for a film to be successful, it must make money to return the investment and a profit.
Because they believe most people are stupid, a film must not be too intelligent.
In the film "Inception" they have answered this challenge by putting in a lot of violence, destruction and aggression.
To entertain those customers who can't follow the details of the complicated story.

All this violence, destruction and aggression is totally unnecessary for the story of the film.
But it makes "Inception" a box office hit and nobody seems to have a problem with that.

The bottom line of the film is far more interesting then all the violence, destruction and aggression.
It is very similar to the theme of Steven Soderbergh's 2002 film "Solaris" with George Clooney.
A man had a relationship with a woman who committed suicide.
Next, the man starts to feel guilty.
And spends his life trying to deal with that guilt.

In the film "Inception" the thief, Leonardo DiCaprio, goes to sleep to dream and enter the mind and the dream of the victim.
To do a good job he can't of course be disturbed and distracted by issues from his private life while on duty.
And this is of course exactly what happens.
Like in "Solaris", the woman that committed suicide appears in the dream and sabotages therefore the job.
Only because of the man's feeling of guilt.

The ending of "Inception" is similar to "Solaris" as well.
The man has to decide to return to his current life or stay in a dream that is like life together with the woman.
And surprise, surprise, in both films the man stays with the woman.
The feelings of guilt are not resolved.
Instead an escape of those feelings is made by staying in a dream world.

Writer and director Christopher Nolan better sends a box of chocolate to Steven Soderbergh with a thank you note.


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From space.

In the past on this blog the subject has been a few times a book written by the Polish author Stanislaw Lem.


The book is called “Solaris”.
Two films have been made based on this publication.
One by Russian Andrej Tarkowski in 1972 and one by Steven Soderbergh in 2002.

We are not going to explain what the book “Solaris” is all about.
This time we use it to explain something about the lagoon currently facing the Fuso Szulc.



In Stanislaw Lem’s story we learn that a team of explorers and scientists are in a spaceship far away somewhere in the universe circling around a planet called “Solaris”.
They are studying if they could colonize this planet and mine minerals for export to Earth.
However, the team of explorers and scientists start to notice that the planet “Solaris” has a special effect and influence on them.
They all experience a confrontation with themselves.
And this in a most unique and peculiar way.
Persons that have been important in their lives in the past, suddenly appear again in the spaceship alive and well.
Even if that person from the past has died long ago.

This is a very intriguing concept.
That a planet can have an influence in such a way.

Stanislaw Lem’s story comes to mind because of staying next to this lagoon.
In a way the lagoon and the situation of being next to it in the Fuso Szulc is comparable to “Solaris”.

The spaceship isolates the crew from society.
They are far away from the social context they are usually living in.
Communication is limited and artificial: by videophone.
The crewmembers are deprived and become vulnerable or open for unusual experiences.

The same situation exists here.
The current location of the Fuso Szulc is far away and hard to reach.
In 16 days only once people came by.
Communication is by Internet: e-mails, MSN and SKYPE.
Limited and artificial.

The crew of the spaceship were facing the planet “Solaris”.
They were completely involved in this engagement.
This happened because there were no other things around to pay attention to.
It was they and the planet and nothing else.

The Fuso Szulc is facing with all its large windows the lagoon and the view is only that.
The ocean is behind the dunes and not really visible.
It is the lagoon that constantly fills the eyes and consequently the mind.

Every day it is realized more and more that the lagoon is a living thing like “Solaris” was.
In a literal sense.
Looking at it for so long and so intense it has been learned for example that the water level is constantly changing.
The different kinds of birds feeding in the lagoon have changed from birds to individual species with their own characteristics.
The surface of the lagoon has become like a projection screen showing what is above and constantly changing there.

However, the lagoon has also become a living thing in a figurative way.
It has penetrated as a metaphorical entity into the being.
Exactly as “Solaris” did.
The lagoon enters spaces and cavities in the mind to haul the discoveries out to present them on the screen the water surface is.
Confrontations that are so total and definite that escape or denial are no options.

In Steven Soderbergh’s version of “Solaris”, the protagonist, Dr. Kelvin (George Clooney), has to decide what to do.
Run away from the confrontation and return to Earth or go all the way?
The rest of the crew recommends and chooses to return.
But Dr. Kelvin decides to stay and accepts not to know what will happen and how it will end.
This dilemma also plays constantly near the Mexican lagoon.
To stay or to return to society?
To believe in oneself or to rely on others?
To grow or to stagnate?

The hypnotic powers of the lagoon are strong.
Making it difficult to leave.
But most deciding is the realization that although it is not an easy experience, this idea of staying next to a lagoon for a longer period of time is a very interesting and beneficial exercise.

Life is the voyage, the idea is the itinerary.
(Victor Hugo)

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To learn more about Stanislaw Lem, click on:

http://www.lem.pl/cyberiadinfo/english/main.htm






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