I didn't know what to expect and I was very pleasantly surprised with the experience.
It is very slow paced but the atmosphere and picture is very good, slowly the questions about the characters and the all situations gets clearer.
I am very surprised with the ratings I was expecting something around 8 on imdb.
Then can you explain what was going on? Was his dad (who was killed) violent or sexually abusive with him? Did Sam or Nick kill the dad? Then, was Nick at all sexually abusive to Sam before they escaped or what? They didn't make this clear, at least not to me. Was Nick guilty of anything other than running away with Sam?
shareI thought it was pretty clearly explained in the final scenes with the girlfriend, with the guy from the farm and the woman cop also.
Here is what I remember and what I make of it :
SPOILER ************************ SPOILER ************************
--- Was his dad (who was killed) violent or sexually abusive with him? => violent ? yes. Sexually abusive no.
--- Did Sam or Nick kill the dad? => Sam.
--- Was Nick at all sexually abusive to Sam before they escaped or what ? => Yes and No, it was consensual.
--- Was Nick guilty of anything other than running away with Sam? => No.
At first we are led to believe that Nick killed Sam's father, burned the house, kidnapped him and was sexually abusing him.
But as the story develops, you realize that it's weird, and more complicated than that.
What happened I think is that his dad was extremely violent with him, leading to the point of Sam killing him on night (no evidence of the dad being sexually abusing to him though).
Sam then goes find Nick for help.
Nick knows the dad deserved it, and doesn't want Sam to be accused of the killing, he wants to help him, so he burns the house and run off with him.
That's basically the all story.
It turns out that Sam was very fond of Nick. It is very clear in the dialogue with the cop that Sam is devastated when she tells him that he didn't make it. He tries to hide it by going in the bathroom to cry. Also he never tries to escape when he's with him.
Nick is a pedophile, but not the monster we think of, there is no evidence of him forcing Sam to anything, and the hospital scene shows there is no physical sign of sexual abuse.
Sam is in love with him, as revealed in the scene with his supposed girlfriend, and Sam is also very jealous when Nick sleeps with the Motel girl, that's why he goes tell her bad things about him. That's why Nick slaps him, because his stupid jealousy showdown put them in danger.
Sam only tells his version of the story once he learns that Nick was killed.
It makes sense that he wouldn't accuse him before, as Nick was innocent, but now that he's dead it doesn't matter anymore, so he might as well protect himself from the law.
With the old guy in the farm he tell his nightmares, which depict the truth,
I found those scenes and the all movie very intense and powerful tbh.
What's your take on the ending btw?
shareYou mean the cave scene ?
shareYes.
shareI am not sure.
I understand it as some kind of symbol; the boy entering the cave could be the boy putting the all story in the past, putting it behind and moving on in his life.
But it could be the complete opposite; with the cave being the ugly souvenirs, and the boy entering it, could mean he can't escape his past, or that he decides to tell the truth about his past.
Tbh the second version seems to fit more I think, cause when he looks at the cave we can see flashbacks of the murder.
I'd like to hear what other ppl think, but no one as seen this movie apparently.
I just re-watched some part to make sure and wasn't confused, and those scenes are brilliant.
Thank you for sharing your opinion )
It's been a couple of months since I've seen the movie so everything is a bit blurry. However, I remember thinking about the ending pretty much the same way: The cave is an inescapable abyss. You can avoid it for quite some time but - truth be told - you should confront it voluntarily. And that what the boy does at the end.
That was a great movie actually. This and 'The Kaleidoscope' are probably the only interesting movies I've seen this year.
Okay we get the same interpretation.
I will try to watch "The Kaleidoscope", never heard of this one, the score is bad on imdb but if you liked it and this one, then I probably will too.
The IMDB ratings were low (not that I pay much attention to them but still) but the trailer got my attention.
Never regretted watching the movie!
Just watched it on Kanopy and loved it.
Great moody score was a plus