Anyway, what I mean is..........Niles mentions Holland as if he's still alive several times and people don't seem to pay it any attention. At one point he's told to borrow Hollands bike!
Haven't seen this since the 70's and I still have half to go, but that doesn't make sense.
**Skin that Smokewagon and see what happens!** Tombstone
One of the main themes of this story is that people don't want Niles to be so sad after... well...
His grandmother and others indulge in Niles' fantasies, never realizing what they're promoting in what is ultimately a pretty sick mind.
Mrs. Rowe, the neighbor, is a little on the dotty side, so she hasn't gotten with the program yet about Holland.
"No fate but what we make." -Terminator II
Actually, his aunt was asking if Russell could borrow his (Niles') bike. Niles said, "sure, but it has a flat". The aunt then asked if Russell could instead borrow Holland's bike. I don't think she was pretending that Holland was alive, I think ownership of all of Holland's possessions went to Niles' upon Holland's death, and she was simply asking permission for Russell to use the "other" bike.
He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.
Exactly. No one acts as if he's alive. The dialogue is constructed so that it only seems that way, so as not to give anything away. Watch again, and you'll see that no one, with three exceptions, say Holland is alive.
Those exceptions are Niles (of course); Nana (because she indulges Niles); and the batty old neighbor next door, and she says, in the same breath, that the boys' father is still alive too. She is meant to be so senile she doesn't remember who is alive.
Hilariously, I never picked up the irony of Mrs. Rowe's line "I'm gonna tell your father on you, Holland Perry!" until now. And I've seen the movie 4 times.
"What I don't understand is how we're going to stay alive this winter."
THe mother and grandmother are aware of Niles' denial regarding the death of his brother. THe others are somewhat aware, but don't dwell on it. It is mostly Ada who is the "enabler". Mrs. Rowe has forgotten about Holland's death just as she has forgotten about the death of their father at the beginning of the movie.
Mrs Rowe: I'm going to tell your father on you!
Holland: Geez. Someone ought to tell her Father's dead.
hey did you read the comments from "MCERION" :
"Holland assumes Niles' identity" after pushing him down the well when attempting to the hang the cat.
Yes, I read it, but it has no basis in reality. There is strong evidence that "MCERION" is one of the Udvarnoky brothers who played Niles in the film.
He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.
The grandmother explained it by saying that she didn't want to hurt Niles by forcing him to face the truth.
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