You all remember the scene when the man was forced to 'perform' for the villagers by having sex with the woman. And we know at the end of the scene the woman calls him an idiot. Didn't it seem a little weird that the woman was still taking to the guy after that intense event?
I mean I guess nothing happened, but still.
Anyone?
Well he doesn't actually rape her or do anything more than just sort of struggle with her so, no, I don't think it's any kind of plothole. However I do think that this scene is the one place where this otherwise unforgettable film loses its way. The anguish felt by the male character is not sufficiently conveyed to make us believe he could really do what the villagers want him to do so the scene never feels convincing & all that stuff with the face masks & the dancing tribesman seems to have come from another & altogether inferior movie. For me it's the one misstep in an otherwise excellent film.
Mai Yamane! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mD83P-vn5JI&feature=related
I thought it was a great scene, because it seemed to fit with the themes that I got from the movie. I had been feeling that the movie was making a lot of points about how a society can trap you, and pretty much steal everything you have, including your desires and mind, just so you work for them. And that scene seemed to really drive the point about making you do anything for them, and how people just give in, when they are offered a little bit of reward. He really had the intentions of literally "whoring" himself (which is a pretty relevant slang term anyway, when it comes to giving in to what people want) for those people, just to get a little bit of freedom, that he should have rightfully had in the first place.
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I know what gold does to men's souls.
Here's my take on it. The man has been her captive for several months now when this event happens. He's just made his escape attempt which was an utter failure. To manage the escape he got her intoxicated, seduced her, and sneaked out while she was in post-coital intoxicated slumber. The villagers rescue him, return him to her, and he spends the next few days feeling sorry for himself over his failure. She's not without compassion - she knows she's helped seperate him from his life in the city, and asks him about what his life back there was like. She's grown attached to him, even though he's never accepted his captivity and expresses resentment toward her.
The villagers make a deal with him - for his 1 hour of freedom per week they want to see a free show with him and "the little wifey". At first he asks her what he should do - she tells him to ignore them and just keep working. But they taunt the hell out of him, knowing that he's in his weakest, most dejected state. And so he gives in and attempts to rape her for their entertainment. In the end, it's a halfhearted attempt (and he even suggests to her they just pretend to do the act) but she's having nothing to do with it. She won't be reduced to the animal level. But he's willing to debase himself in just that way. That's why she's so furious - that's why she beats on him afterward, asking him "What kind of idiot are you?" To me, this scene has power because of its emotional truthfulness. She's angry that she's become attached to someone so pathetic.
She was still stuck with him in that sandpit and had to live with him. They were like animals in the zoo, stuck in the same cage forever, and had to learn to live together no matter what. They couldn't exactly go the rest of their lives without talking again.
Besides, he didn't actually go through with it. As another poster said, it was a halfhearted attempt. I think she understood too that he was only doing it because he was so desperate and the villagers were making him do it (not that that makes it ok, but I guess she would have considered it a mitigating factor).
"To punish the oppressors of humanity is clemency. To forgive them is cruelty."
-Robespierre
> Didn't it seem a little weird that the woman was still taking to the guy after that intense event?
Nope. The characters seemed more mature than 8th grade children, so it's not surprising that they didn't refuse to talk to one another.
~ Observe, and act with clarity. ~
There was a scene before that in which she talked about self-interest as a guiding force that overrides moral qualms. Why not make money selling sand that may lead to injuries/deaths? Why not kidnap and enslave someone if you need help with your futile workload?
He was just trying to put her own philosophy into action for his self-interest this time.