The Freedom to Choose
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it - Matthews 7:13
One of the central themes in this film is that of choice, particularly between what is presented as Heaven or Hell. That is, do we choose the spiritual, presented as the total release of physical attachment, or do we choose the temporal, with its temptation and pleasure.
Hell, being the domain of the temporal, is ubiquitous, and present all around. The scene in subway where we see the bulletin of New York on the train reinforces this idea, as the advertisement presents New York as a source of endless pleasure and absence of boredom. The Big Apple can serve as a symbol for sin, referencing Adam and Eve biting the apple, bringing about the torment and suffering present in the world. The bulletin adjacent to it, says that life can be Hell, but that help is available (potentially referring to angels who may help people choose the proper path).
The subtext implies that Earth can be the domain of Hell. Religion tells us that we have the opportunity to choose Heaven or to choose Hell. The former representing the narrow path, enabling access only upon letting go of that which ties one down (spiritual); and the latter representing the broad path of temptation and pleasure (temporal).
The film posits an interesting question, mainly that if the mind is tricked into only believing the external, then how can it differentiate between what is good and bad? Jacob's girlfriend, representing a demon and a tether to the temporal, appears good by virtue of her beauty, but on the inside, is a symbol of said temptation and pleasure. How does one find the door to the narrow path that leads to salvation, when all around is in disarray?
For the film, Jacob ultimately chooses Heaven, as he climbs the stairway (ladder) with his son into the light. share