HULUPALOOZA!! (Post 6 of 12)
The Ear is here!
The Ear is listening!
The Ear is coming for you!
The Ear is a movie that I knew nothing about going in and for the record is not a horror movie like Oliver Stone's The Hand.
What The Ear depicts is a different type of horror. This involves the constant fear of surveillance by the ruling class, which in this case is the Soviet Union which explains why this movie went unseen for two decades after it was made.
A majority of the film involves a bickering couple who argue about their personal lives as well as feeling the pressure of the man's political life being under scrutiny. The rest of the film is mostly a series of flashbacks from that night's dinner party which involves various officials and their dealings with the couple. I thought this plot device worked very well and brought into focus what the couple was experiencing in different lights.
So, I'd recommend giving this one a listen.
So, I'd recommend giving this one a listen.
The film shows how domination by the state breeds mistrust among co-workers, neighbors, long-time friends, and even within a marriage. An awareness of constant surveillance is a simmering, insidious menace that makes normal life impossible. Rising in the ranks of officialdom leads not to greater individual autonomy but rather to an increased level of paranoia, as the vetting process grows increasingly invasive and failure to conform carries the threat of greater penalties.
ReplyDeleteWell put. And this film brings that home on a very human and real level.
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