Just watched this at a film fest and could not have been more entertained. This video definitely helped me realize how great this movie truly is. I noticed about 70% of the references, but a few of the ones i didn't catch were pretty important. PS: 25 keeps coming up because it was every 25th frame that his father put a subliminal piece of art in the film strips. It is also the standard for shutter speed overseas. 24FPS is a North American standard but overseas its 25FPS for cinema.
Just a little fun fact: at 12:56 where he says there's a snail logo on the truck of the postman, that's actually the logo of the Hungarian Post Office, redrawn a bit to fit the movie better. It can also be that it was made to look more like a snail for symbolism's purpose i don't know, but it's a real logo nontheless and it originally depicts a trumpet. It's been ages since I've seen this movie and it made me smile that they put the logo in.
I noticed at 51:14 that there’s a shadow of Hitchcock on the wall and as Kowalski runs through the door, it turns to the other side and turns into the shadow of Milorad Krstić, the director himself!
On the train you can read: "EAP" and this is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's novel William Wilson who is a doppelgänger. Which is an other reference to this film (Ruben-Kowalski).
I rarely comment on TH-cam, but your work compelled me to leave a note of appreciation. This is an amazing analysis , your attention to details is fantastic
And one more token as a Russian - "Не болтай!" (Do not talk!) is a reference to the popular 1941 poster produced on the orders of KGB in the beginning of the war with the allusion that those who talk too much serve spies. There are plenty of references to the Soviet/anti-Soviet propaganda in the bar. And indeed it is controversial - sometimes it is "Beware of the Red Scare", or "The Red Menace is Real" with the American flag to follow, and a second later it is in Russian - "Враг коммYнизма никогда не спить" (The enemies of communism never sleep), but with the English Y in place of the Russian "y". I find it exquisitely humorous. There are many more Russian references throughout the film, including Russian/Soviet songs, a Russian assassin Boris and his Ninochka busy with the blow job in the car. And then we find out that Brandt's father was a Stasi collaborator. There is one more lesser-noticeable reference - Little Red Riding Hood was used by many psychologist and psychiatrists to explain various sexual behaviours. One of them was Eric Berne, who used this fable for the behavioural theories in his best-selling book Games People Play.
can we take a moment to appreciate the snail symbolism. im so happy i decided to search up and came across this video after the movie. honestly, AMAZING JOB
Great video, thanks. The word gemini in different languages appears all the way through, as well as the gemini symbol, which I think, confirms the theory of Ruben and Kowalski being the same person.
On the subject of the butterfly: "“Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn’t know he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up, and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn’t know if he were Zhuang Zhou who had dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang Zhou and a butterfly, there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.” (Watson 18)" this story is well-known to Hungarians, for one of our major poets, Sándor Weöres wrote a poem that tells this story.
Nice video. After looking at rooten tomatoes, it looked like noone understood the film. First, what we believe you need to look into to understand the film even better is psychoanalysis, mostly Freud and his idea of sublimation of libido into dreams, and then his idea of artist's sublimation of ideas, ideals and also libido into the artwork. What you did mention, was a really nice review and we completely agree about dream thing: this was a sublimation of characters mental problems into dreams (also Freud) and this was also sublimation of artist's mind into an artwork: his film. The scene where Kowalski comes into the house of that murdered man resembles for us a bit of Hitchock's style, and the scene with the mosquito reminded us a lot of one of the first animation's, How a mosquito operates (as well as already mentioneBatman reference in the comments. The music is important too as a reference material, like that part with Britney song Ups, I did it again, where the woman is not singing but her shadow does, it could be connected with duble lives the singers are living. The painter of the balerina's is Degas btw. The specifics in every face of each character give us an inside to their psychological state as well as some of their skills and characteristics, like the spy that has an eye in his ear. His ear is exaggerated which gives us a clue that he is always listening, and the eye reinforces that (it also moved while his other eyes remained still), big mouth for those who spill secrets or talk too much, multiple eyes for those who look around too much or that they are double faced (and litteral duble face) etc. This is a huge blend of multimedia, arts, film, music, pop culture, literature, psychology (mostly psychoanalysis) and this is characteristic for postmodernism. Also, look into Paprika, Inception is a rip off of this animated movie that is also connected to psychoanalysis with eastern animation characteristics. Last, but not least, Kowalski is an alter-ego of our main character, present in modernistic literature and psychoanalysis. Cheers, two sisters, one studying and practicing art as a painter and another with master's deegre in comparative literature.
"Cheers, two sisters, one studying and practicing art as a painter and another with master's deegre in comparative literature." Or are you really one and the same...! Just kidding, thanks for your great comment!
Inception is way too Nolanesque and smart to be merely called a rip-off of Paprika (which is arguably as smart/smarter nontheless). The themes aren't new and, honestly, the resembling scenes might also be coincidental, and if they're not, I don't see the problem either way. Other than that, thanks for your insights, really helped me!
@@YepItsHoward would be great, considering there's loads and loads of material to speak and explain about. Anyway, i feel that i will re watch this movie not once or twice. Enchanting and mesmerizing piece of art!
This is the moment where i say I'm proud to be a Hungarian. I've watched this film a few times now and it amazes me every time. I didn't really catch the easter eggs while watching but the theories that you listed make sense. Thank you for this video.
I love this movie; your video was awesome! Totally one of the best movies ever to analyze. I agree with the snail part, I also think because when he was younger he always wanted to play with them but he never could, the snail is symbolic of the normalcy Reuben could have had/ is seeking. The snail is always sort of out of reach. He can never really get to it when he reaches for it (Hopper) and the train that narrowly passes by it in the beginning is symbolic of how the dad's experiments were always trying to kill what Reuben wanted to do, since it's a nightmare. I also think it's a way of Reuben implicitly recalling childhood in relation to why he has nightmares. He doesn't know why he's having them, but the snail's presence in them is like his brain implicitly knowing it's tied to those experiments as a kid. Also, what do you think of the film's music? Regarding symbolism, how it's used etc.
You're probably right! Never thought of it that way! I was thinking why they showed the snail almost getting killed, and couldn't wrap my head around it... I think the music is terrific, but I don't know if there's any subtext. I think most of them are probably just homages like "Creep" and "Nightbook". What do you think?
@@YepItsHoward Yeah I'm not sure! It was awesome how you picked up on the train sounds throughout the film by the way, I totally hadn't. I agree they're probably just homages! I did notice that little red riding hood is a song that plays as Mimi drives to Ruben's facility to join their group. And red riding hood is featured when Ruben conducts that story music group activity. So I'm guessing the story of red riding hood pry has some sort of meaning as it relates to the film, but I don't know what it is haha. Your video definitely made me want to watch the film again! Great job!
Omg how many points have i missed, i cant believe. Thanks for video. I would like to mention, why did we see so many 25’s in this movie, also did you notice that when kowalsky finds his fathers film room, he counts the scenes, he counts till 25. In psychology when you want to give a subliminal message they use 25th scene. I am not sure does it really work or not but that was 25th frame effect.
The Double bear = Ruben and Kowalski (I think. I mean Mimi sees the bear(s) just before Ruben turns into Mike in her dream, and also it's in the book Ruben finds at the end right before his reflection turns into Kowalski's)
Thank you for the video, it was an amazing summary! One little remark: the sign on the postcar is not a snail reference, it is actually the official sign of the Hungarian post, it represents a horn (=
2nd time watching this film. Had to pause and watch a movie “explain” video here on YT to re-familiarize with the film. I appreciate your deconstruction of this movie. Then i pressed PLAY and had a ball looking for Easter eggs and other references. Def 1 of my Top 10. 👍🙏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😱🎥
Had the chance to see this movie in theater today and it was amazing! I loved the art styles and the characters. I admit, I was disappointed in the ending, but after watching your explanations, it makes more sense to me. I'm gonna buy it and rewatch it when I get the chance
There was a Batman reference when he splat the mosquito and a Jurassic Park reference with the mosquito itself. Also, Pulp Fiction reference during the dance scene.
Yeah, the Batman reference I noticed afterwards. But I feel like Jurassic Park and Pulp Fiction is a stretch. I don't think the filmmaker is that close to pop culture.
You did a good hell of an explanation.. i liked the theory section and the symbolism.. I appreciate the funny things you do in the middle of the video..
Nice summary! On the wall in the office of Ruben Brandt the work Supremist composition (blue triangle and black rectangle) of Malevich is displayed. Also Van Goghs Bedroom is at some point a setting for a scene.
Thank you for sharing your insights! I've found a girl from "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère" by Manet and "The Milkmaid" by Vermeer were working in the cruise boat on the Seine river. Brilliant film.
Thank you so much for this video! Ruben Brandt is very close to my heart so it was a joy watching this. You pointed out a lot of very interesting things. I also love the theory about the ending! It makes alot of sense and it blows my mind! This movie is really smart and an amazing experience.
Also he was sitting in the seat numbered 25 in the train. I enjoyed the film a lot, and your video really helped me to catch the details I missed, like the train noise in the background which gives a real sign of the whole thing being a dream. As the book was given as a gift from the patients, it may still be a dream, or still not :) Thanks for this great review!
Such a great and detailed video! My theory about the butterfly: when I watched the film for the first time and noticed the butterfly motif, I instantly thought of this quite famous quote/story of Chuang Tzu the chinese philosopher - "was I Chuang Tzu dreaming I was a butterfly or am I now really a butterfly dreaming that I am Chuang Tzu?" It's such a simple quote, yet it's the epithomy of many philosophical concepts the film is evolving around - identity, dreams, reality and our certanity/uncertainity in that reality. (Also it's obvious, but I would still like to mention how much I love that the name Ruben Brandt is a mixture of two of the most famous baroque painters Rubens and Rembrandt - an other nod to art histrory. And baroque was all about the contrast of lightness and darkness. Maybe a coincidence, but I still like the thought of it.)
Congratulation! I can't belive to something outside of hungary is watched this film, and make a video about it. Thanks a lot for showing it! (Just a little correction. At 12:56 that is a posthorn which is the symbol of the post system in hungary, and not a snail.)
Wonderful analysis. To your last point, this is what happens in City of Women by Fellini in which Mastroianni's character is on a train and the final scene suggests the whole thing was a dream.
Wow, your review was awesome! Great work! There's also the Soviet/Russian folk song "Пусть всегда будет солнце" ('Let there always be the sun' I guess) that Boris is singing when cleaning the windows and the tune that sounds like a slowed version of "Во поле берёза стояла" ('There was a birch tree in the fields'), another Slavic song (i can't remember in which part of the film i heard it) Upd. It wasn't that song but the one with very similar melody Kis Kice Lanyom Oh, and in the film room of Brandt's father there was also a poster of 'The cabinet of Dr. Caligari' although it was noticeable enough to call it an obvious easter egg.
What a wonderfully well done video. Thank you for uploading this, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and need to better understand its complex (or simple, depending on your perception) storyline.
This videos is one of the only videos that i found is really informative, fund and actually understandable by someone who doesn't know english that well. Great job and i hope you keep making videos like this.
Just watched the movie and immediately went on youtube for an explanation. Great job on the video and finding all the easter eggs and whatnot! One movie that I didn't see mentioned here or in the comments but stuck out to me what a brief shot in the opening chase scene where the detective leaps and is about to jump through a window and the camera is following him as he does this. Very closely resembles a shot from The Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon. You can see this shot in the trailer for this film as well. Keep up the good work!
This film is a masterpiece. I watched last night and it's gone straight to number one best film I saw this year. Thanks for helping to confirm my choice with your brilliant analysis. I'll be watching it again with everything you said in mind. 👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
Amazing... I feel full. I get everything and it makes it a much more unique movie. Thank you for highlighting all those details. Love your devotion on the explanation
It was an amazing movie. Thanks for the explanation! I've been rewatching it almost everyday since last week and I thank you for pointing some easter eggs
I am so pleased that you did your analysis. I first saw the film about a year ago and re-viewed again recently. I felt that there was so much 'hidden in plain sight' within the film but I do and have the background knowledge to understand. You have helped me gain so much more from this film. Thank you, and thank you to the other contributions below also.
YOOOO i've never commented on a youtube video but now i have to, i didn't quite clock the ending, that kowalski and ruben are the same person but now when you said it and reminded me of the quote at the beginning and i came to the realisation i got goosebumps all over my body wtffff the Karinthy quote
Great job on analysys. I noticed the same symbology as you did. This feature would only be understood by those who has a degree in film studies or psychology.
Great movie. Probably one of my favorites of 2019. Really impressed with your research. Had a fantastic time watching it but definitely had a few questions when the films wrapped up.
Man you nailed this video! Literally just finished watching the movie and I definitely agree with your theory about the ending and all the little details!!
we can hear the sounds we hear from the outside as songs in our dreams. listen to the song at the very beginning of the movie, and then listen to the sound from the train tracks.
@@YepItsHoward Ah thanks for the reply! I saw it at an hungarian film festival (the creator of the movie submitted it and was present afaik) so i am always pleasantly surprised and curious when other (especially non hungarian people) know about it. :)
On minute 50:00 in the back round you can notice a painting by Giorgio de chirico called “Piazza d'Italia” There are so many interesting little details, it’s amazing to watch.
The music was very prominent in this film. There may be some things hidden in them. While watching I tried to find every single piece of music in the film and many are either obscure or covers of known songs. E.g. “Oops, I did it again” and “Kiša pada, trava raste” (a Bosnian folk song) all the way to “kis kece lanyom” (my favourite).
Hey! Loved your video! Made me rewatch the movie a few times and enjoy it even more. About your conclusion of how it's all a dream, there is a text in the psychology journal (5:05) that says: "time sometimes runs like a locomotive, sometimes crawls like a snail. subliminal messages hidden in movies". I don't know if you had seen it before, but I think it proves your theory about all being in a different time.
Thank you so much for this video man!! I loved the film on its own & your video made me love it even more now that you pointed out all those details! Very articulate & eloquent :)
I found this excellent review. At min 20 there is a scene with a panel of razors that could symbolize the history of dealing with depression, addiction, and self-abuse or mutilation. Also, the mosquito is reminding you how unimportant and temporary things are. Especially those things that irritate you (discussion with mother about the father identity).
Great video! Now it's a lot easier to understand what this movie is trying to say. Just a sidenote, at 12:56 it's not a snail on the truck, it's a post horn.
thanks for this, I speak spanish and I don´t understand all but need this video because I just saw the movie and it was fantastic. sorry for my bad english
Here are some of the theories I feel tie up the film. 1. The closing sequence starts with Ruben looking out a train and looking at his book in which there is a photo of Mimi, and the other thieves and then cuts to a bus moving across a bridge, the point the director makes is that Ruben does have Schizophrenia and how a schizophrenic sees the world around them, they cannot discern what is real and what isn’t. 2. All real characters or characters that Ruben knows do not have weird or exaggerated traits or disfigurements, they include Mimi, Kowalski, Cooper, Brandt. All the others are just figments of his imagination. 3. Mimi is Ruben’s mother, this might sound weird, but Ruben is projecting his problems onto Mimi, Ruben’s mother is never mentioned in the movie, he misses that part of his life, Mimi’s problem is also that she doesn’t know what’s missing in her life, on the contrary Kowalski is close to his mother (owing to the scene in which Kowalski’s mother says she bought him a tshirt, and her confessing that she had to save him from his father) Ruben thinks that that is what she should have done for him, save him from the terrible ordeals his father put him through. A subtle hint is also that the exaggerated elongated nose that Mimi, Kowalski and Ruben have. This movie is a bloody masterpiece
Also in your video 8:04, the film that appears on tv is animated short "My baby left me" (1995) which is also made by the same director, Milorad Krstić
Amazing video!! opened my eyes to many things I didn't get at first, and I've watched the movie twice. I'm studying the history of art in the university and I noticed most of the paintings right away, but one thing I'm not sure if you know, the building behind Ruben when he's dreaming about the nighthawks is from another painting by giorgio de chirico, he's known for painting dreams way before surrealism. (I think around 1910.)
I like this movie and as Hungarian I am proud we have an excellent movie after a long time and I am sad it's overlook, not known and underrated, it's true cinema experience when you have to think and watch to see what's happening and understand the meaning. I think during this movie we actually have to use our brain and that's why people don't like, we don't like to think while watching movies we just want to entertain and not think about it. I suggest if you watch, watch with original language with subtitle, the character voices much better, English dub isn't the best :D
@ 12:56 That's not a snail, it's a blowing horn, a pretty common post symbol in Europe (the instrument was used by postmen to announce their arrival and departure) Also, another artwork I noticed cleverly hidden in the movie is in the scene where Ruben dreams about "Nighthawks". The background behind Ruben is actually "The Enigma Of The Hour" by Giorgio de Chirico.
well done， very nice story and Easter eggs explained . One point about the butterfly is that make me think of “Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream” , which is the most famous story in the .This story discuss about how hard can one man tell he`s in the dream or reality .
Outstanding! I agree with your theory of what the ending means. Also, the bear toy with two heads could also mean what you said about the finale and the main character: the two in reality are just one.
Just watched this at a film fest and could not have been more entertained. This video definitely helped me realize how great this movie truly is. I noticed about 70% of the references, but a few of the ones i didn't catch were pretty important.
PS: 25 keeps coming up because it was every 25th frame that his father put a subliminal piece of art in the film strips. It is also the standard for shutter speed overseas. 24FPS is a North American standard but overseas its 25FPS for cinema.
Thank you for the support!
Holy shit! How can I have missed that. Of course! The 25th frame in the films 😱
also at the end on rubens train seat
Just a little fun fact: at 12:56 where he says there's a snail logo on the truck of the postman, that's actually the logo of the Hungarian Post Office, redrawn a bit to fit the movie better. It can also be that it was made to look more like a snail for symbolism's purpose i don't know, but it's a real logo nontheless and it originally depicts a trumpet. It's been ages since I've seen this movie and it made me smile that they put the logo in.
I just got done watching the film and badly needed closure for the whole brother thing 😭
Same xd
I noticed at 51:14 that there’s a shadow of Hitchcock on the wall and as Kowalski runs through the door, it turns to the other side and turns into the shadow of Milorad Krstić, the director himself!
Are you sure it's 51:14? I couldn't find it...
Do you know the specific scene?
YepItsHoward It is right after Ruben and Kowalski meet for the first time in a reflection, and when Kowalski notices Mimi he runs out of the building.
Ohhhhhh shit! You're right it's there! You have great eyes!
Great catch. Just like the characters in the movie having 4-5 eyes, one would need the same too to catch all the small details.
Good call, because Hitchcock was also the ice in his glass in the ending I think
On the train you can read: "EAP" and this is a reference to Edgar Allan Poe's novel William Wilson who is a doppelgänger. Which is an other reference to this film (Ruben-Kowalski).
omg
I rarely comment on TH-cam, but your work compelled me to leave a note of appreciation. This is an amazing analysis , your attention to details is fantastic
Thank you very much, sire!
And one more token as a Russian - "Не болтай!" (Do not talk!) is a reference to the popular 1941 poster produced on the orders of KGB in the beginning of the war with the allusion that those who talk too much serve spies. There are plenty of references to the Soviet/anti-Soviet propaganda in the bar. And indeed it is controversial - sometimes it is "Beware of the Red Scare", or "The Red Menace is Real" with the American flag to follow, and a second later it is in Russian - "Враг коммYнизма никогда не спить" (The enemies of communism never sleep), but with the English Y in place of the Russian "y". I find it exquisitely humorous. There are many more Russian references throughout the film, including Russian/Soviet songs, a Russian assassin Boris and his Ninochka busy with the blow job in the car. And then we find out that Brandt's father was a Stasi collaborator.
There is one more lesser-noticeable reference - Little Red Riding Hood was used by many psychologist and psychiatrists to explain various sexual behaviours. One of them was Eric Berne, who used this fable for the behavioural theories in his best-selling book Games People Play.
can we take a moment to appreciate the snail symbolism. im so happy i decided to search up and came across this video after the movie. honestly, AMAZING JOB
❤️
Great video, thanks.
The word gemini in different languages appears all the way through, as well as the gemini symbol, which I think, confirms the theory of Ruben and Kowalski being the same person.
Yeah, so is the Double Bear Press and a lot more...
25th frame, that's why 25 everywhere. Your explanation is the best I could find across the internet. thank you
Thank you! Yes, someone brought that to my attention earlier.
On the subject of the butterfly: "“Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn’t know he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up, and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn’t know if he were Zhuang Zhou who had dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou. Between Zhuang Zhou and a butterfly, there must be some distinction! This is called the Transformation of Things.” (Watson 18)"
this story is well-known to Hungarians, for one of our major poets, Sándor Weöres wrote a poem that tells this story.
Thanks for the info! Now I really have to read it...
Nice video. After looking at rooten tomatoes, it looked like noone understood the film. First, what we believe you need to look into to understand the film even better is psychoanalysis, mostly Freud and his idea of sublimation of libido into dreams, and then his idea of artist's sublimation of ideas, ideals and also libido into the artwork. What you did mention, was a really nice review and we completely agree about dream thing: this was a sublimation of characters mental problems into dreams (also Freud) and this was also sublimation of artist's mind into an artwork: his film. The scene where Kowalski comes into the house of that murdered man resembles for us a bit of Hitchock's style, and the scene with the mosquito reminded us a lot of one of the first animation's, How a mosquito operates (as well as already mentioneBatman reference in the comments. The music is important too as a reference material, like that part with Britney song Ups, I did it again, where the woman is not singing but her shadow does, it could be connected with duble lives the singers are living. The painter of the balerina's is Degas btw. The specifics in every face of each character give us an inside to their psychological state as well as some of their skills and characteristics, like the spy that has an eye in his ear. His ear is exaggerated which gives us a clue that he is always listening, and the eye reinforces that (it also moved while his other eyes remained still), big mouth for those who spill secrets or talk too much, multiple eyes for those who look around too much or that they are double faced (and litteral duble face) etc. This is a huge blend of multimedia, arts, film, music, pop culture, literature, psychology (mostly psychoanalysis) and this is characteristic for postmodernism. Also, look into Paprika, Inception is a rip off of this animated movie that is also connected to psychoanalysis with eastern animation characteristics. Last, but not least, Kowalski is an alter-ego of our main character, present in modernistic literature and psychoanalysis.
Cheers, two sisters, one studying and practicing art as a painter and another with master's deegre in comparative literature.
"Cheers, two sisters, one studying and practicing art as a painter and another with master's deegre in comparative literature."
Or are you really one and the same...!
Just kidding, thanks for your great comment!
Guido Freriks if possible...can you explain the climax?!?
Inception is way too Nolanesque and smart to be merely called a rip-off of Paprika (which is arguably as smart/smarter nontheless). The themes aren't new and, honestly, the resembling scenes might also be coincidental, and if they're not, I don't see the problem either way. Other than that, thanks for your insights, really helped me!
@@dr.shylesh find my comment in under this video. It will explain everything for you.
Great insights, summary! I was overwhelmed by amount of art in the movie as well btw.
Thank you! Yeah, the director said he'd like to release a blu-ray or DVD with his commentary, frame by frame, explaining what's going on on screen.
@@YepItsHoward would be great, considering there's loads and loads of material to speak and explain about. Anyway, i feel that i will re watch this movie not once or twice. Enchanting and mesmerizing piece of art!
This is the moment where i say I'm proud to be a Hungarian. I've watched this film a few times now and it amazes me every time. I didn't really catch the easter eggs while watching but the theories that you listed make sense. Thank you for this video.
I love this movie; your video was awesome! Totally one of the best movies ever to analyze. I agree with the snail part, I also think because when he was younger he always wanted to play with them but he never could, the snail is symbolic of the normalcy Reuben could have had/ is seeking. The snail is always sort of out of reach. He can never really get to it when he reaches for it (Hopper) and the train that narrowly passes by it in the beginning is symbolic of how the dad's experiments were always trying to kill what Reuben wanted to do, since it's a nightmare. I also think it's a way of Reuben implicitly recalling childhood in relation to why he has nightmares. He doesn't know why he's having them, but the snail's presence in them is like his brain implicitly knowing it's tied to those experiments as a kid.
Also, what do you think of the film's music? Regarding symbolism, how it's used etc.
You're probably right! Never thought of it that way! I was thinking why they showed the snail almost getting killed, and couldn't wrap my head around it... I think the music is terrific, but I don't know if there's any subtext. I think most of them are probably just homages like "Creep" and "Nightbook". What do you think?
@@YepItsHoward Yeah I'm not sure! It was awesome how you picked up on the train sounds throughout the film by the way, I totally hadn't. I agree they're probably just homages! I did notice that little red riding hood is a song that plays as Mimi drives to Ruben's facility to join their group. And red riding hood is featured when Ruben conducts that story music group activity. So I'm guessing the story of red riding hood pry has some sort of meaning as it relates to the film, but I don't know what it is haha. Your video definitely made me want to watch the film again! Great job!
Omg how many points have i missed, i cant believe. Thanks for video.
I would like to mention, why did we see so many 25’s in this movie, also did you notice that when kowalsky finds his fathers film room, he counts the scenes, he counts till 25. In psychology when you want to give a subliminal message they use 25th scene. I am not sure does it really work or not but that was 25th frame effect.
Yes! You are right! I figured after the fact.
Thank you!
Also Ruben is in seat 25 on the train.
The Double bear = Ruben and Kowalski
(I think. I mean Mimi sees the bear(s) just before Ruben turns into Mike in her dream, and also it's in the book Ruben finds at the end right before his reflection turns into Kowalski's)
Yeah. If anything that is probably what it is.
Thank you for the video, it was an amazing summary! One little remark: the sign on the postcar is not a snail reference, it is actually the official sign of the Hungarian post, it represents a horn (=
2nd time watching this film. Had to pause and watch a movie “explain” video here on YT to re-familiarize with the film. I appreciate your deconstruction of this movie. Then i pressed PLAY and had a ball looking for Easter eggs and other references. Def 1 of my Top 10. 👍🙏⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️😱🎥
Amazing and thank you!!!!
Min 7:04 - "Two Dancers resting" by Degas (probably someone has already mentioned it before me)
I saw Starry Night by Van Gogh. It was rather quickly in the windshield during the car chase through Paris when water gets thrown over it :)
This film deserves a sequel
Had the chance to see this movie in theater today and it was amazing! I loved the art styles and the characters. I admit, I was disappointed in the ending, but after watching your explanations, it makes more sense to me. I'm gonna buy it and rewatch it when I get the chance
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it as well.
There was a Batman reference when he splat the mosquito and a Jurassic Park reference with the mosquito itself. Also, Pulp Fiction reference during the dance scene.
Yeah, the Batman reference I noticed afterwards. But I feel like Jurassic Park and Pulp Fiction is a stretch. I don't think the filmmaker is that close to pop culture.
Saiful Hassan The dance scene is from Fellini’s 8 1/2. Tarantino used the same scene in Pulp Fiction as a reference.
Ive been looking for something like this!
You did a good hell of an explanation.. i liked the theory section and the symbolism.. I appreciate the funny things you do in the middle of the video..
Thank you mr. whitecat person🙏🙏
Nice summary! On the wall in the office of Ruben Brandt the work Supremist composition (blue triangle and black rectangle) of Malevich is displayed. Also Van Goghs Bedroom is at some point a setting for a scene.
Thanks! It's so crazy people are still finding stuff from it everyday 😱
Thank you for sharing your insights! I've found a girl from "A Bar at the Folies-Bergère" by Manet and "The Milkmaid" by Vermeer were working in the cruise boat on the Seine river. Brilliant film.
Thank you!
correction: the Manet bar girl was in the club in Paris where Mike and Mimi jumped in. The boat on the Saine was not cruising boat.
I was about to comment about those two more paintings myself. I say the movie yesterday, I think I have to rewatch it just for the art!
Thank you so much for this video! Ruben Brandt is very close to my heart so it was a joy watching this. You pointed out a lot of very interesting things. I also love the theory about the ending! It makes alot of sense and it blows my mind! This movie is really smart and an amazing experience.
Thank you! The movie is so unique and different stylistically it begs attention.
@@YepItsHoward Couldn't agree more!
great video, thanks for uploading ❤
how does this have so few views? 😮
Thank you for the support!
Also he was sitting in the seat numbered 25 in the train. I enjoyed the film a lot, and your video really helped me to catch the details I missed, like the train noise in the background which gives a real sign of the whole thing being a dream. As the book was given as a gift from the patients, it may still be a dream, or still not :) Thanks for this great review!
I know right! I’m starting to think if the director put subliminal 25th frame in the film himself!
Thank you!
Such a great and detailed video!
My theory about the butterfly: when I watched the film for the first time and noticed the butterfly motif, I instantly thought of this quite famous quote/story of Chuang Tzu the chinese philosopher - "was I Chuang Tzu dreaming I was a butterfly or am I now really a butterfly dreaming that I am Chuang Tzu?"
It's such a simple quote, yet it's the epithomy of many philosophical concepts the film is evolving around - identity, dreams, reality and our certanity/uncertainity in that reality.
(Also it's obvious, but I would still like to mention how much I love that the name Ruben Brandt is a mixture of two of the most famous baroque painters Rubens and Rembrandt - an other nod to art histrory. And baroque was all about the contrast of lightness and darkness. Maybe a coincidence, but I still like the thought of it.)
Nice job! Just watched the movie and needed some help interpreting. I think you nailed it. Thanks for your time.
Thank you for your support!
Congratulation! I can't belive to something outside of hungary is watched this film, and make a video about it. Thanks a lot for showing it! (Just a little correction. At 12:56 that is a posthorn which is the symbol of the post system in hungary, and not a snail.)
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Wonderful analysis. To your last point, this is what happens in City of Women by Fellini in which Mastroianni's character is on a train and the final scene suggests the whole thing was a dream.
Thanks! Now I have a new film on my watchlist...
Great explanation. Much needed. Thank you so much for helping me make sense of what i just saw and why i was feeling awed! 😅😅
Thank you for watching!
Wow, your review was awesome! Great work!
There's also the Soviet/Russian folk song "Пусть всегда будет солнце" ('Let there always be the sun' I guess) that Boris is singing when cleaning the windows and the tune that sounds like a slowed version of "Во поле берёза стояла" ('There was a birch tree in the fields'), another Slavic song (i can't remember in which part of the film i heard it)
Upd. It wasn't that song but the one with very similar melody Kis Kice Lanyom
Oh, and in the film room of Brandt's father there was also a poster of 'The cabinet of Dr. Caligari' although it was noticeable enough to call it an obvious easter egg.
After I watched your video, I went back and saw the movie again. The movie becomes more enjoyable and fascinating. Thanks for your explanations.
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Great video! Great explanation! Thank you very much!
Thank you!
Watched this today and I enjoyed it a lot. Thanks for this video! I missed so many things.
Thank you!
What a wonderfully well done video. Thank you for uploading this, I thoroughly enjoyed the film and need to better understand its complex (or simple, depending on your perception) storyline.
The painting with the ballerinas is Two ballet dancers by Edgar Degas 1879 ❤️
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Marvellous. And the cat is from Rosina Wachtmeister. Also I heard the jazzy cover of “Oops, I did it again” so that is also quite schizophrenic😱
Oh my gosh bless you! I was so confused at the end of the film! Now it all makes much more sense.
Thank you!
Without your analysis video, I could have missed a lot from the movie. Wow! What an amazing explanation.
This videos is one of the only videos that i found is really informative, fund and actually understandable by someone who doesn't know english that well. Great job and i hope you keep making videos like this.
Thank you so much! I will!
very nice and informative. thanks for the nice explanation
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Just watched the movie and immediately went on youtube for an explanation. Great job on the video and finding all the easter eggs and whatnot! One movie that I didn't see mentioned here or in the comments but stuck out to me what a brief shot in the opening chase scene where the detective leaps and is about to jump through a window and the camera is following him as he does this. Very closely resembles a shot from The Bourne Ultimatum with Matt Damon. You can see this shot in the trailer for this film as well. Keep up the good work!
Thank you for watching and the comment! I remember that shot from Bourne, it does seem incredibly similar! Keep up your good work as well.
This film is a masterpiece.
I watched last night and it's gone straight to number one best film I saw this year.
Thanks for helping to confirm my choice with your brilliant analysis.
I'll be watching it again with everything you said in mind.
👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾👌🏾
May the snail be with thee, sire🙏🏼
This is just amazing, resolved so much of my puzzles, finally I could get a good sleep tonight, thank you :)
papa bless 🙏
Matrix Reference: Roof Chase of Mimi and her artcstic landing like Trinity.
Did you recognise the pulp fiction reference too? When they were dancing
Amazing...
I feel full. I get everything and it makes it a much more unique movie. Thank you for highlighting all those details. Love your devotion on the explanation
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Thank you
Thank you!
It was an amazing movie. Thanks for the explanation! I've been rewatching it almost everyday since last week and I thank you for pointing some easter eggs
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Thank you so much for this video! I thought this movie was great when I saw it yesterday, but now I think it’s EVEN BETTER
Thank YOU!
I am so pleased that you did your analysis. I first saw the film about a year ago and re-viewed again recently. I felt that there was so much 'hidden in plain sight' within the film but I do and have the background knowledge to understand. You have helped me gain so much more from this film. Thank you, and thank you to the other contributions below also.
Thank you so much for commenting and your support. Really appreciate it!
Thnx for your great video and all artistic findings🤩
Thank you!
Great explanation and more insight that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. Great stuff...
great explanation of an interpretation and possible ending.
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YOOOO i've never commented on a youtube video but now i have to, i didn't quite clock the ending, that kowalski and ruben are the same person but now when you said it and reminded me of the quote at the beginning and i came to the realisation i got goosebumps all over my body wtffff the Karinthy quote
Why thank you I am honored to have your first comment!
This was actually a great breakdown of the movie! Good job dude
Thank you!
Great job on analysys. I noticed the same symbology as you did. This feature would only be understood by those who has a degree in film studies or psychology.
Great movie. Probably one of my favorites of 2019. Really impressed with your research. Had a fantastic time watching it but definitely had a few questions when the films wrapped up.
Glad you liked it. Wish more people have seen it though...
Thank you!
I think, when Mimi has her portrait painted, that painting is a reference to Modigliani's painting called Jana.
I’m not sure 🤔
Man you nailed this video! Literally just finished watching the movie and I definitely agree with your theory about the ending and all the little details!!
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Wow, thank you for making this clear, I was honestly soo confused. Great job, n wow, you have such clean and smart observations. Hats off!
🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️
we can hear the sounds we hear from the outside as songs in our dreams. listen to the song at the very beginning of the movie, and then listen to the sound from the train tracks.
Thanks for making the video, nice to see more people love it as dearly ! Can I ask, how did you find the movie/what brought your attention to it?
I saw someone talked about it and I looked the film up. The style looks so interesting and different I had to check it out. So I did~
@@YepItsHoward Ah thanks for the reply! I saw it at an hungarian film festival (the creator of the movie submitted it and was present afaik) so i am always pleasantly surprised and curious when other (especially non hungarian people) know about it. :)
Thank you so much for making this video! You made me realise just how much I'd missed and appreciate this film all the more :')
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On minute 50:00 in the back round you can notice a painting by Giorgio de chirico called “Piazza d'Italia”
There are so many interesting little details, it’s amazing to watch.
The music was very prominent in this film. There may be some things hidden in them. While watching I tried to find every single piece of music in the film and many are either obscure or covers of known songs. E.g. “Oops, I did it again” and “Kiša pada, trava raste” (a Bosnian folk song) all the way to “kis kece lanyom” (my favourite).
Hey! Loved your video! Made me rewatch the movie a few times and enjoy it even more. About your conclusion of how it's all a dream, there is a text in the psychology journal (5:05) that says: "time sometimes runs like a locomotive, sometimes crawls like a snail. subliminal messages hidden in movies". I don't know if you had seen it before, but I think it proves your theory about all being in a different time.
baby one more time from Britney Spears-the Lady with five eyes that sings
15:53 noooow I understand the last scene of Ruben in the train haha. thanks!
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Thank you so much for this video man!! I loved the film on its own & your video made me love it even more now that you pointed out all those details! Very articulate & eloquent :)
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Thank you for video. All points are absolutely relevant. Video is really fast and nice to watch. Great work!
Thank you so much!
I found this excellent review. At min 20 there is a scene with a panel of razors that could symbolize the history of dealing with depression, addiction, and self-abuse or mutilation. Also, the mosquito is reminding you how unimportant and temporary things are. Especially those things that irritate you (discussion with mother about the father identity).
At 7:04 the painting is Two Ballet Dancers in a Dressing Room by Edgar Degas :)
Great video! Now it's a lot easier to understand what this movie is trying to say. Just a sidenote, at 12:56 it's not a snail on the truck, it's a post horn.
Yeah, someone told me in the comments.... I am 100% ashamed :(
thanks for this, I speak spanish and I don´t understand all but need this video because I just saw the movie and it was fantastic.
sorry for my bad english
Gracias por ver!
The name of Cooper for an FBI agent could be also a reference for David Lynch’s Twin Peaks - FBI agent Dale Cooper. Great video!
I was thinking more of D. B. Cooper but that works too.
Brilliant analysis!!
St. George Music ❤️
Very well made video about a very good movie! thank you
Thank you!
amazing job! thank you!
Thank you!
Fantastic analysis!!
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I totally saw an homage to the bourne ultimatums "The window jump" at 17:26 :) there are a lot of scenes of this stunt on youtube
Here are some of the theories I feel tie up the film.
1. The closing sequence starts with Ruben looking out a train and looking at his book in which there is a photo of Mimi, and the other thieves and then cuts to a bus moving across a bridge, the point the director makes is that Ruben does have Schizophrenia and how a schizophrenic sees the world around them, they cannot discern what is real and what isn’t.
2. All real characters or characters that Ruben knows do not have weird or exaggerated traits or disfigurements, they include Mimi, Kowalski, Cooper, Brandt. All the others are just figments of his imagination.
3. Mimi is Ruben’s mother, this might sound weird, but Ruben is projecting his problems onto Mimi, Ruben’s mother is never mentioned in the movie, he misses that part of his life, Mimi’s problem is also that she doesn’t know what’s missing in her life, on the contrary Kowalski is close to his mother (owing to the scene in which Kowalski’s mother says she bought him a tshirt, and her confessing that she had to save him from his father) Ruben thinks that that is what she should have done for him, save him from the terrible ordeals his father put him through. A subtle hint is also that the exaggerated elongated nose that Mimi, Kowalski and Ruben have.
This movie is a bloody masterpiece
Also in your video 8:04, the film that appears on tv is animated short "My baby left me" (1995) which is also made by the same director, Milorad Krstić
I love both, the film and your video!!!
Maria Lucente 🙏🏼❤️
Amazing video!! opened my eyes to many things I didn't get at first, and I've watched the movie twice. I'm studying the history of art in the university and I noticed most of the paintings right away, but one thing I'm not sure if you know, the building behind Ruben when he's dreaming about the nighthawks is from another painting by giorgio de chirico, he's known for painting dreams way before surrealism. (I think around 1910.)
Oh yeah you're right! I missed that. But so obvious at the same time...
And in the same scene when he gets on the bus the board says Piazza de Giorgio 😊
I like this movie and as Hungarian I am proud we have an excellent movie after a long time and I am sad it's overlook, not known and underrated, it's true cinema experience when you have to think and watch to see what's happening and understand the meaning. I think during this movie we actually have to use our brain and that's why people don't like, we don't like to think while watching movies we just want to entertain and not think about it.
I suggest if you watch, watch with original language with subtitle, the character voices much better, English dub isn't the best :D
@ 12:56
That's not a snail, it's a blowing horn, a pretty common post symbol in Europe (the instrument was used by postmen to announce their arrival and departure)
Also, another artwork I noticed cleverly hidden in the movie is in the scene where Ruben dreams about "Nighthawks".
The background behind Ruben is actually "The Enigma Of The Hour" by Giorgio de Chirico.
Thanks for the video Bhai
Thanks Bhai
The painting of the ballet dancers (7:07) is by Edgar Degas, called Two Ballet Dancers (1879)
Noemi Daboczi yes! We found it!
well done， very nice story and Easter eggs explained . One point about the butterfly is that make me think of “Zhuangzi’s Butterfly Dream” , which is the most famous story in the .This story discuss about how hard can one man tell he`s in the dream or reality .
I have heard of that! But never looked into it much... still intriguing!
Outstanding! I agree with your theory of what the ending means. Also, the bear toy with two heads could also mean what you said about the finale and the main character: the two in reality are just one.
Correct! And thank you!!
thanks, this did help! I loved the film and this really added to it.
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I found Wanderer above the Sea of Fog by Caspar David Friedrich in Mimi's dream
Is it the one where she frees the bird? I didn't find Sea of Fog.
@@YepItsHoward yep! When she runs up to Ruben, he is the man from Sea of Fog
Bro, u should have 1 mill subs for all this work u do!
I appreciate that, Mr. Geek!
9:30 i think it says "trabant" on the first guys t-shirt which was a very popular car in Hungary back in the days nowadays its only for collectors
Agh niiiice