I enjoyed this movie.
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Goodnight Mommy
Roogatsby — 9 years ago(May 04, 2016 10:29 AM)
I enjoyed this movie.
It is very MEAN to the viewer, kind of like Kill List or Nothing Bad Can Happen (or someone else mentioned Boy), and it has a wonderful sick twisted sense of realism (the fly paper! ugh) . I'm stunned to read so many people are interpreting this movie as if it were in any way similar to Sixth Sense with the use of supernatural elements (except the psychological thriller House at the End of the Street is probably more apt for comparing tropes)
I think the story, atmosphere, & scoring of Goodnight Mommy come together to make something very special in its own right. I'm really not sure if there is any one correct way to interpret this film, because there are quite a few things that don't make sense (this is not a value judgement, the things that don't make sense are what makes this movie particularly terrifying)
Spoilers ahead
I think it's fair to say many people who have seen Goodnight Mommy will notice the clues which hint that one of the twins is not corporeal, & the other twin imagining him is mentally ill. Classic.
Now let's pretend, for the sake of argument, that you view the progression of events as if Lukas is the neglected twin, not a ghost. The mother has just had facial surgery and is proceeding to prepare the house to be sold, erstwhile stocking the freezer with pizzas so they don't have to go anywhere The twins are worried that this woman is not their real mother (she's even drawn a birthmark on her face) & she is becoming increasingly menacing. The twins gather evidence that suggests she isn't their mother: the aforementioned birthmark, the photograph of her and a lookalike, the video recording on her phoneeven when they torture her she has nothing to say for herself. It is entirely possible that this bandaged woman did in fact set out to do them harm by taking their mother's place. Who is to say that the poor twins, one of whom is now neglected by this new woman, aren't justified in killing this imposter and finding their real mother?
anyways, even if we stick with our first theory about the twin ghost it's still maybe even more terrifying. There is a moment where the woman/mother realizes just how serious things have gotten.. and it's long before the fire startsbut there's no way for her to be accountable for the way she has treated her son isn't there something very upsetting about the way this poor family handles grief?
It may seem silly to some people, this is what was so (dare I say) dialectical about watching this movie for me - there is nothing but circumstantial evidence for either interpretation, so the viewer stays with Elias' perspective all the way, start to finish, regardless of who you end up empathizing with. So there is no twist! - anyone who expects a twist is hunting for a Snark.
Congratulations to Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz, and also the incredible cast - this is an excellent film through & through. -
Giraffe_Monster — 9 years ago(September 27, 2016 01:28 PM)
Why would they cite all their sources and influences, but flat out deny that they haven't seen The Other?
People can think whatever they like, but honestly I'm kinda tired of seeing people bring up that movie all the time. If they'd take a small amount of time to do their research, they would know that this movie has absolutely nothing to do with it.
Were you inspired by A Tale of Two Sisters or The Other? There are a lot of thematic similarties
SF
: We havent seen The Other.
Really?
VF
: Some friend of ours said, You have to watch this, and we never did.
SF
: We were inspired maybe more by The Innocents by Jack Clayton or maybe Bunny Lake Is Missing by Otto Preminger or Eyes Without a Face by Georges Franju or all the rip-offs of Eyes Without a Face by Jess Franco.
Why even bring a "friend" into the conversation if they weren't telling the truth? It's something that could easily be debunked.
Lots of children and teenagers experience a moment where they doubt that their parents are really their parents, added Franz, co-director and Fialas aunt. Its like coming of age, confronting who you are and who your parents are. Lots of children think: Am I adopted? Can these really be my parents?
Franz herself remembers experiencing this disorienting feeling. As a child, she would falter upon seeing her grandfather with a newly shaven face. But the scariest moment occurred while playing a game of hide-and-seek with her mother. My mother was covered with a blanket and acting really scary, Franz remembers. I thought: This is a monster now; shes not my mom. Shes showing her true side and the monster is coming out.
That feeling of breached trust and dissociative identity never left Franz.
One day, Franz and Fiala were watching a reality television show featuring women who volunteer to undergo plastic surgery.
Moms are separated from the children for a month or two and they get a new mouth, new teeth, new cheekbones, new haircut, and new clothes, explained Fiala. When the family is reunited, what is positioned to be a magical, music-swelling red carpet moment is subverted by unmistakable horror. If you look closely at the children, their eyes are horrified, said Fiala. Franz added: There was even one moment when a girl grabbed her fathers arm and said, This is not our mother.'
And there you go. That's how the idea for this movie was born. Lots of movies share the same themes, doesn't necessarily mean they're ripping others off.
Fine, fine, I'll leave! But first I'm going to bother these peanuts! Hmm? Yes? Hmm? HMM?