We finally got a chance to see Borgman. Check out our review here!
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| "Things are about to get VERY strange!" |
There is a strange paradox in society where individuals want
to be successful but at the same time they envy other’s success and wish for
their downfall. This is sometimes referred to as “crab mentality” in which
people push others down to their level in order to diminish their ability to
improve themselves (“If I can’t have it, neither should you!”). The story goes:
there is a pot full of crabs about to be boiled but none of them can escape
death because they continually pull each other back into the boiling water in
their desperate attempt to escape. Not one is able to get out and they all
perish.
In the Danish film Borgman,
an affluent suburban family discovers that perhaps they aren’t as comfortable as
they think they are and malevolent forces are at work to destroy them. Borgman starts on a mysterious note,
with a derelict man named Camiel Borgman (Jan Bijvoet) who lives in an
underground hovel located in a dense forest. He is being hunted by a mob of
townspeople for some unknown reason and escapes by running to a rich, suburban
neighborhood. He travels from door to door imploring the owners to let him come
inside to bathe himself. Finally, he finds a family that lets him in and that’s
where the trouble begins.
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| "Hello, sir. Would you like to buy some rubber nipples?" |
What is incredibly interesting about this film is that
absolutely nothing that happens is ever explained. As the family interacts with
Camile and his cohorts, and their lives begin to change for the worse, there is
a palpable feeling of dread that develops. Each situation becomes increasingly
surreal and even comical in a dark way. It’s not unlike watching a sauce slowly
simmer on the stove; it never boils over and instead reduces and becomes more
concentrated.
The husband and wife secretly feel guilty for how wealthy
they are and in essence become crabs unto themselves. They know that they are
orchestrating their own downfall but they continue anyway, perhaps in some sort
of self-flagellation to punish themselves for being “lucky” enough to enjoy the
finer things in life. I find this class warfare theme woven throughout the film
to be somewhat unsettling but it is an idea that many people hold (even if they
will not care to admit it).
This film is not unlike a modern Grimm’s fairy tale and there
are some magical realism aspects to the plot. The story moves at a snail’s pace
and you will need immense patience to see it all the way through. It is
definitely more about the journey in this film than the end result. I found it
to be alluring and mesmerizing rather than tedious as some others might. Director
Alex van Warmerdam has crafted a seductive and ultimately esoteric tale for the
audience to wrap their minds around.
-Michelle Kisner